Ed Godfrey, who specializes in extreme freight, is part of Landstar’s worldwide transportation network, built on its 10,000-truck fleet of owner-operators.  Operating specialized equipment to transport oversized loads, hazardous materials, and high-value freight coast-to-coast in the Lower 48 states, Alaska and Canada, he has driven 19 crash-free years without violations, tickets, or damaged freight claims.

He credits patience, attention to detail, meticulous maintenance of his highway heavy-use tractor and trailer, and a little luck for his safety record.

Godfrey has seen, up close, how tragedy strikes in a split-second on the highway. In the months between earning his award and actually receiving it at the celebration ceremony in the summer of 2014, he witnessed a highway tractor pulling a 53-foot van trailer flip over in front of him on Interstate 20 in Texas, 50 miles west of Fort Worth.

“A quarter-of-a-mile ahead of me a pick-up truck blew its tire, lost control, and T-boned the tractor-trailer unit,” Godfrey explained. “Because I drive fifty-eight miles per hour, it gave me time to react.”

Slowing down, he says, “and taking every precaution that you can, is more important than anything. Maintenance on your equipment affects everything as an Owner-Operator.”

Truck drivers typically drive about 120,000 miles a year, ten times more than the commuting motorist does. It takes about 10 years for a truck driver to reach the one million mile mark according to Landstar, which is equal to 357 trips from New York to Los Angeles or 2 round-trips to the moon. In addition to Godfrey's award, 125 additional One Million Mile awards were presented at the 2014 Million Miler Banquet held in Savannah, Georgia.  

“Their talent, hard work and dedication to safety are truly worthy of celebration,” said former Landstar Chairman and CEO Henry Gerkens. “They make the roads safer for all of us.”

The University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI), a leader in truck-related crash research, studied driver factors in fatal car-truck crashes and found that car drivers were responsible for 81% of crashes versus 27% of truck drivers.

The U.S. freight market is worth more than $800 billion a year and long-haul truckers move more than a third of our goods. We are lucky to have drivers of his skill and experience traveling alongside us.  

Godfrey’s first trucking job was in August 1996 and he's learned a lot since then.  “If I were to teach a safe driving course, I would focus on learning the skill of always being aware of your surroundings.” Although he has almost three million lifetime driving miles, his current goal is to receive his two million mile safe driving award from Landstar.  

Ed manages a team operation, doing business with his wife and co-driver, Salena Lettera.  They are based in Tucson, Arizona and drive approximately 100,000 miles per year.  When not working, they enjoy movies, dining out, taking pictures, and traveling domestically and internationally.