Think about how long 50 years is. (If you’re approaching an upcoming birthday for that milestone, maybe don’t. Think about cake and good friends instead).

Five decades. Half a century. 436,800 hours. It’s a long time.

It’s also the years of safe driving that UPS Feeder Driver Ron “The Big Dog” Sowder has just racked up. (Feeder trucks are the big semis that you see rolling down the highway. “The Big Dog” is a cool nickname for someone who’s good at what he does).

Before crossing the finish line Wednesday at UPS’s facility in West Carrollton, Ohio, just south of Dayton, Ron was escorted for the last few miles of his milestone trip by Ohio State Troopers. He was then greeted by a blast of confetti and an enthusiastic welcoming committee at the building.

UPS takes their safety seriously, as anyone who has ever set foot in one of its facilities can attest, and an achievement like this means a whole lot to the company. (In fact, UPS invested $175 million in safety training in 2011). On Thursday morning, several special UPS guests from around the country were on hand for a formal celebration at the facility.

A native of Springboro, Ohio, Ron was fresh out of the Navy when he joined UPS in 1960. Since then, he figures he’s driven more than 4 million miles; transported more than 22 million packages, and climbed into a UPS truck more than 12,000 times. Just last year he was featured on the show “American Trucker” on the Speed Channel.

According to Ron, the greatest benefit of being a UPS driver is “The future. I like that this company is always growing – Never stagnant. It’s great to be a part of an organization that is always looking ahead to what comes next.”

So now what’s next? Well, more great service and safe driving from “The Big Dog.”

You can count on that.

“Hey, that driver has a beard! What’s with that?” 

I can’t tell you how many times that question was asked when Robb Mariani, the bearded host of American Trucker, put on some browns to ride with UPS’s own safety champ Ron “Big Dog” Sowder. Though you will never see a real UPS driver with a beard, we decided to give Robb a pass on the facial hair. 

Robb and his crew were featuring UPS operations on the Speed Channel show that travels the globe featuring big trucks and the people who drive them. Robb is a real fan of trucks and truckers and his enthusiasm was obvious as he and his crew filmed at Chicago CACH, Cincinnati and Louisville Worldport operations.

While the crew was in Chicago, they toured the CACH operation and spent some time with several top Circle of Honor (COH) drivers and the mechanics who keep them on the road. It was obvious that the size and complexity of the CACH operation was a revelation to Robb. But he seemed most excited when they gave him a uniform and let him get behind the wheel. Robb managed to complete Safe Driving Day One by driving a quarter mile across the yard to hook up a trailer. This was shortly after talking to a COH driver with just over 6.5 million safe driving miles.

Then the crew headed for Cincinnati to meet up with Ron “Big Dog” Sowder, who has the longest safe driving record in the company – 49 years and still going. Ron drives every day from Dayton, Ohio, to Cincinnati and on to the Worldport operation in Louisville, Ky. The plan was to let Robb ride along.  

But all that talk of trucks and trucking history took us momentarily off plan as Robb found out that the local automotive shop was rebuilding a 1976 Diamond Reo tractor. So we headed for the shop, which is housed in the original Cincinnati building, built in 1934. There Robb was like a kid in a candy shop talking about the rebuild project with Automotive Manager John Hollis and climbing aboard a dusty tractor to experience a little UPS history. 

Finally, Robb was on his way to Worldport with Ron “Big Dog” Sowder. I can only imagine what those two were like on the road together. Robb loves trucking and Big Dog is about as close to living truck history as you can get around here.      

At Worldport, it was fun to watch Robb as he realized just how big and diverse the world of UPS operations really is. “Honestly, this whole adventure is hurting my brain,” he declared at one point during the tour. At the end of the day, you could see that he really got it. “You people really do love logistics!” he proclaimed. 

Ya, Robb, we really do.

UPS drivers across the globe drive 3.3 billion miles per year. They average less than one accident per million miles driven – an incredible statistic. That stat is due to two things: UPS has the best safe driving training in the world, and UPS drivers take an enormous amount of pride in what they do. Training and pride – it’s an unbeatable combination. And the proof is in the pudding. This year, 934 new Circle of Honor members were added to the total of current active drivers with 25 years or more without an accident. The total number of UPS drivers who have steered clear of accidents for 25 years or more now stands at 4,788. And on top of that remarkable number, Ron Sowder of UPS’s Kentucky District has attained 48 years of safe driving. Florida’s Ginny Odom, the top female safe driver stands alone with 35 years without an accident.

What follows are comments from both drivers on what it takes to drive safely for so long.