BEAVER TOWNSHIP, Ohio — A truck driver for an Ohio company is retiring with a record he can be proud of: In 27 years, he logged more than 3 million miles and never had an accident.
Jeff Harley, 66, of Rochester, Pennsylvania, was driven to a special ceremony Friday morning at the Yellow Truck Terminal in Beaver Township, WKBN reported.
Yellow’s terminal manager, Mandy McHenry, said 3 million miles equals 83 trips around the planet and praised Harley as an exceptional driver, according to WFMJ.
“He does a lot for our company, he does a lot for our city, he does a lot for his family and for his coworkers and that needs to be acknowledged and appreciated,” McHenry told the television station.
Harley reached the milestone via countless cross-country trips and also did not receive a traffic ticket, The Vindicator of Youngstown reported.
“That’s something that definitely needs to be appreciated and understood,” McHenry told reporters. “Can you imagine 3 million miles, you don’t hit a deer. For 3 million miles, you don’t hit a curb. How many people can go a year without getting a speeding ticket?”
Harley and his developmentally disabled son, Seth Harley, 31, were escorted from the Ohio Turnpike at Exit 232 back to the Yellow Truck Terminal by Ohio State Troopers, a Mahoning County sheriff’s deputy and Beaver County police officers, WFMJ reported. Harley had just finished a run from Cincinnati, filling in for another driver, according to The Vindicator.
“I used to go on truck runs with him for about six years,” Seth Harley told the newspaper.
Harley was met at the office by family members, friends and co-workers, who lined outside the terminal and cheered, WFMJ reported. Coffee and baked goods were passed out to the crowd, and Harley’s on was given a T-shirt and a hat.
“It’s pretty awesome,” Harley told The Vindicator. ”I never expected something like this.”
Before starting with Yellow Trucking Terminal in 1994, Jeff Harley spent 16 years as a self-employed truck driver, the newspaper reported. His secret to an accident-free career was simple, he said.
“Just pay attention,” he told WKBN.