3 Norristown UPS Drivers Honored For 25 Years With No Accidents

By KAREN WALL and JUSTIN HEINZE

NORRISTOWN, PA -- Three Norristown men is one of 70 Pennsylvania drivers honored recently by UPS for logging 25 years of driving without an accident, the company announced.

Robert Hoffman, Christopher Huber, and Ronald Scurry, all of Norristown, were recently inducted into UPS’s Circle of Honor for achieving 25 years of accident-free driving, the company said in a news release.

70 elite drivers from the Keystone State were inducted into the prestigious circle.

UPS, which has 102,000 drivers worldwide, estimates they log more than 3 billion miles a year.

Globally, 8,703 active UPS drivers are members of the Circle of Honor and represent more than 245,000 years and more than 5.3 billion safe miles during their careers. That’s enough miles to travel to Mars and back 19 times.

HOW MUCH IS 5.3 BILLION?

• 5.3 billion miles is enough miles to drive to Mars and back 19 times.
• It’s enough miles to circle the earth at the equator nearly 213,000 times.
• It’s enough miles to drive every mile of every road in the U.S. nearly 1,300 times.
• 5.3 billion seconds ago James K. Polk was the 11th president of the United States, and the Civil War was still 13 years away.
• 5.3 billion minutes ago many ice age species, like the wooly rhinoceros and saber-toothed cats, were going extinct .
• A stack of 5.3 billion dollar bills would be about 360 miles high.

New Jersey has 269 active Circle of Honor drivers with a combined 7,566 years of accident-free driving. George Lodovico of Vineland is the state’s senior-most safe driver, with 45 years of accident-free driving, the company said.

There are 4,075 total UPS drivers in New Jersey.

“My thanks go to all of them for their dedication and focus and for the countless lives they’ve saved,” said George Brooks, president, UPS East Region. “Their attention to detail has kept them safe and has helped improve public safety.”

Globally, the most seasoned UPS Circle of Honor driver is Thomas Camp of Livonia, Mich., with 53 years of driving without an accident. Ronald McKnight of Bronx, N.Y., is next in line with 47 years of safe driving. Sixty-six others have logged at least 40 years without an accident.

TOP FIVE TO ARRIVE ALIVE

UPS says it stresses driver safety on a daily basis. Here are five tips based on safe-driving principles UPS drivers use:

1. Look Left, Right, Left Again … before crossing an intersection. And don’t forget to check your mirrors!
2. Safe Space … When stopped in traffic, keep a car length between you and the car ahead to allow room to pull around a stalled vehicle or a cushion if it makes an unexpected turn.
3. Back Off! … Space between you and the car ahead is critical – 4 to 6 seconds if you’re going under 30 mph, 6 to 8 if you’re going over 30.
4. Stale Green is Mean … If you’re not sure when a green light will change, visualize the point beyond which you’ll stop if it turns yellow.
5. A Roving Eye … Check your mirrors every 5 to 8 seconds. Just a quick glance, then back to the road ahead!