How times have changed on the road - Fleet Owner
With driver turnover remaining steady and high, Jimmy Howard is an anachronism. He drove for over 43 years, all of it at one company: UPS. He logged over 6 million accident-free miles and just retired at age 66. We talked with Howard about why he stayed with UPS for his entire career, how the industry has changed, and what advice he has for other drivers especially those starting their careers.
Fleet Owner: Where did your driving career begin?
Howard: I joined UPS when I was 22 years old in 1975. I started in the package cars; that's the brown delivery trucks. You had to have at least a year of safe driving with them and then you signed what they called a “feeder list” to drive a larger truck.
UPS is a little bit different; they don't call them tractor trailers, they call them feeder units, but they're tractor trailers. I signed the list but I had absolutely no experience in driving that kind of truck. The company trained me. I went through an extensive training course and received my Class A license. It wasn't called a CDL back then. You passed that and a management person rode with you for about two weeks, and then they turned you loose on your own.
With driver turnover remaining steady and high, Jimmy Howard is an anachronism. He drove for over 43 years, all of it at one company: UPS. He logged over 6 million accident-free miles and just retired at age 66. We talked with Howard about why he stayed with UPS for his entire career, how the industry has changed, and what advice he has for other drivers especially those starting their careers.
Fleet Owner: Where did your driving career begin?
Howard: I joined UPS when I was 22 years old in 1975. I started in the package cars; that's the brown delivery trucks. You had to have at least a year of safe driving with them and then you signed what they called a “feeder list” to drive a larger truck.
UPS is a little bit different; they don't call them tractor trailers, they call them feeder units, but they're tractor trailers. I signed the list but I had absolutely no experience in driving that kind of truck. The company trained me. I went through an extensive training course and received my Class A license. It wasn't called a CDL back then. You passed that and a management person rode with you for about two weeks, and then they turned you loose on your own.