Four million miles. That’s roughly 160 trips around the world, or eight-and-a-half trips to the moon and back.
Dale Williams, 65, may not be a jet pilot or astronaut, but he’s certainly matched distances traveled in both professions over the course of his nearly 37-year career with XPO. Earlier this month, XPO celebrated the Army veteran for driving 4 million miles.
On top of that, he drove every one of them without a single accident.
It’s a feat that drivers in the trucking industry strive for, yet very few achieve. According to an article published in Truckers News, Perdue Farms celebrated its second driver to ever achieve 4 million accident-free miles in the company’s 104-year history earlier this year. With the addition of Williams, XPO now also has two drivers who have reached the milestone in its 35-year history.
XPO recognized Williams’ achievement on April 8 with a celebration at the company’s service center in Knoxville, Tennessee. He was presented a new camo-wrapped tractor in honor of his military service, a $25,000 safe driving bonus, a trophy, varsity jacket and more.
Additionally, Williams was awarded a personalized ruby ring sporting four diamonds – one for each of the million miles he’s driven safely over the course of his career.
“Dale is a true role model,” Tim Staroba, president of XPO’s East Division, told FreightWaves in an email. “He’s well known at XPO and throughout the trucking industry for his commitment to safety, but also for sharing his wealth of knowledge with other drivers. Reaching four million accident-free miles is an incredible achievement that shows his dedication to our colleagues, customers and the motoring public. We’re proud to have him on our team and grateful for his service to our country and company.”
Growing up Army green
Born in Orangeburg, South Carolina, Williams grew up just south of Columbia, South Carolina, in the town of Casey. There, he would join his high school’s Army Reserve Officer Training Corps program and participate in the drill team, honor guard and rifle team.
“It was good prep for the military,” Williams told FreightWaves. “It gave me a stripe when I went in.”
After graduating from high school, Williams joined the Army as a Private E-2 and would earn the rank of Sergeant E-5 within two years. He spent most of his three years of service as a paratrooper stationed at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. After leaving the Army, he served one additional year in a signal battalion with the Army National Guard.
Following his military service, Williams would start trucking in 1980, hauling scrap metal and pulling mobile homes. He also did some maintenance as a handyman during this time. Eventually, he moved to Texas in 1985 where he worked in over-the-road trucking out of San Antonio for about six months.
“We [covered] everything but the East Coast,” Williams said. “I slept in trucks, and it wasn’t really for me. I came back home to South Carolina, and that’s when I started hauling heavy equipment. … And that’s where I met my wife, Karen. Her uncle was my bossman.”
Finding a career with XPO
Williams began work with XPO, then named Con-way Freight, in 1987.
“I was three months shy of opening day for the company,” Williams said. “July will be 37 years I’ve been with the company.”
He said that he enjoys doing less-than-truckload driving for XPO because of the work-life balance the job offers.
“I think most of your over-the-road drivers look for LTL companies to work for later on in their career so they can settle down with family a little bit and get into more of a routine,” Williams said. “Five hundred to 600 miles [a trip] is about as far out as we can go because we’re home every day.”
Safety from a trucker’s perspective
Over the years, Williams has seen lots of changes in the trucking industry and with the driving public. One big change during his career was the invention of cellphones.
“When I first started trucking, CBs were your main communication on the road. When I left the house, I had a dime in my pocket in case something happened so I could make it to a phone and make a phone call for help. So the camaraderie and trucking was a lot better then. Not a lot of people run CBs as much anymore on the road. I guess everyone depends on cellphones.”
Williams said that due to cellphones, more and more motorists are making driving their “second option” when they’re on the road. He said that being aware of distracted drivers and conscious of lane position is important to stay accident-free.
As for advice to new truckers, Williams said healthy lifestyle habits are important for safe driving.
“The main thing that any driver needs to do starts at home,” Williams said. “You have to get your rest, and family life is huge. You have to have a support system there. When I started driving with this company, I was running nights. With children at home trying to sleep during the day, my wife made sure we had blackout curtains in the windows and kept the kids quiet in another part of the house so I could get my rest.”
Additionally, Williams keeps a rigid military mindset when it comes to punctuality at work.
“I always show up 30 minutes early so that I’m not rushed when I get there,” he said. “I can relax and talk with the drivers around me. … Just setting the pace and taking it slow [is important]. Checking your equipment out properly and making sure you know what you’re taking down the road is safe before you start your trip is extremely important.”
Big recognition
Friends, family, co-workers and XPO executives weren’t the only ones this month who celebrated Williams on this career milestone. He also received a congratulatory letter from Glenn Jacobs, mayor of Knox County, Tennessee, and former WWE wrestler “Kane.”
Williams gave a big grin when he received the letter from his son’s favorite childhood wrestling idol.
“[XPO] really puts an emphasis on these mile markers that you hit in your career, and that’s a good thing for the drivers,” Williams said. “For the junior drivers, it’s an incentive to keep doing things the right way.”
Today, Greenwich, Connecticut-based XPO employs 13,000 drivers across 297 service centers in North America. The LTL business handles more than 13 million shipments per year made up of over 18 billion pounds of freight per year. In September 2022, XPO driver David Frazier was honored as the company’s first driver to achieve 4 million accident-free miles. Frazier drives out of the service center in Kernersville, North Carolina.