Trucker honored for reaching safe driving milestone

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTHI) - A Wabash Valley truck driver was honored by his company this week for driving one million miles without an accident.

The driver, Cecil Randle, described the level of attention needed to avoid crashes on increasingly busy highways.

“Just be aware all of the time,” Randle said. “There’s so many things you’ve got to look out for and be careful of all the time.”

Increasingly, Randle said he and other drivers have noticed more and more motorists performing distracting tasks.

“I’ve seen people putting on makeup, changing clothes, reading books, magazines, doing paperwork,” Randle said. “I’ve seen all kinds of things people are doing.

While Randle’s co-workers also said cell phones and other electronics seem to be a major source of distraction for motorists.

“(I’ve seen) a truck with his laptop up on his steering wheel playing games down the road,” said Dale Archer, another driver previously honored for traveling two million miles without an accident.

Randle pointed out that many of his co-workers have driven long distances safely. Company officials said locally, drivers Terry Wheeler and Dale Archer have driven two million miles without a crash and drivers Jeff Scarbrough, Mark Beasley, Ron Shamp, Mark Guenzel and Kevin Smith have driven one million miles without an accident.