Janis and our four adult children will tell you our family has two mottos: "Life is for the living" and "Safety first." When our kids were young, I'd wake them up in the morning by opening the blinds in their bedrooms and calling out, "Get up, life is for the living." And whenever we'd go out on our boat, a favorite family pastime, I'd remind them to think, "Safety first."
I'm particularly serious about the "safety first" motto and am proud to say that I haven't had a car accident or a speeding ticket in more than 30 years (unless you count last month when I backed my car into a tree).
“Safety first” is also a guiding principle for every part of the Frito-Lay business –- and a motto that our people know and practice daily. As good as my safety record is, I am an amateur compared to the 300-plus over-the-road (OTR) Frito-Lay truck drivers who have logged at least 1 million miles without an incident.
On average, it takes an OTR driver 10 years to log 1 million miles, and thanks to the safety programs put in place here – including dedicated training programs that focus on collision prevention, driving ergonomics and “close quarter” truck maneuvering skill development -- Frito-Lay has realized a 64 percent decline in collisions over the past decade.
Earlier this month, Frito-Lay inducted more than 90 of our OTR drivers into Frito-Lay Million Milers Club, including Deb Davis (pictured in her truck), an OTR driver who works out of Frito-Lay's Beloit, Wisc., manufacturing plant and delivers our snacks to sales locations throughout the Midwest. She has achieved 26 years of safe driving, and reached the 2 million mile, incident free, milestone in 2008.
"The key to safe driving is to take your time, and if the weather gets too bad, just pull into a motel and wait it out," says Deb, who drives an International with a stick shift while listening to Road Dog Trucking on SIRIUS Satellite radio.
"People ask me when I'm going to retire, and I tell them my goal is to achieve 3 million accident-free miles," Deb says. "I love traveling and being on the open road. I tell people it's interesting because the scenery is always changing. The clouds aren’t the same every day, and at night -- sometimes I'm chasing the moon, and sometimes it's chasing me."
It's obvious that Deb follows the “safety first” motto that my family has heard me advocate many times over the years. But it's clear in seeing the enthusiasm she has her job that Deb also lives the other Philips family motto, “Life is for the living."
Listen to Deb and learn more about her career as an OTR driver at Frito-Lay and what keeps her coming back with a smile everyday.
3 Million accident free miles is a great goal. I have been on the road and seen truck involved accidents and they do usually look pretty darn devastating. Your goal is a commendable.
Posted by: Ajlouny | July 18, 2009 at 07:15 PM