PHOENIX - Rush-hour congestion, distracted drivers, even wrong-way drivers. Douglas Beyer has seen it all from the cab of his US Postal Service truck.
Who else might have seen his share of road hazards than a truck driver who's logged more than a million miles from New York to Arizona. And Beyer has done it all without a single accident in his 30-year USPS driving career.
For his exemplary driving prowess, Beyer earned his way into an exclusive club—the National Safety Council Million Mile Club.
He is the second USPS truck driver to achieve the million-mile designation, but the first to do it without a dent or ding anywhere on his record.
At a ceremony at the USPS's main sorting facility in Phoenix, Beyer had some quick advice to be accident free: Get defensive! As in, become a better defensive driver.
"When you're driving, look as far ahead as possible," Beyer advises. That way, he explained, you can see any potential situation in front of you. "And, you're prepared for everything."
What makes his feat even more remarkable is that Beyer drove the streets of Manhattan in New York City for 18 years before relocating to relative calm of Phoenix roadways.