Driver Craig Deutsch celebrates a million miles of safe driving

Post Date - Apr 4, 2022

In the world of trucking, being a million-mile driver says a lot about who you are. It means that you’ve put a lot of time into building a successful career. You hold yourself to a high standard, especially when it comes to safety. When others are focused on doing the job as quickly as they can, you’re focused on doing it well and safely, even if it means you must take your time. Craig Deutsch is one of those people. He has worked in the trucking industry for 40 years and recently celebrated one million safe miles with us at Paper Transport.

“I’ve achieved well over a million miles throughout my entire career of driving, but this is the first time I’ve been with a company long enough to complete one million miles in one place,” Craig says. “This is something I’ve wanted to achieve for a long time and with the help of the good people at Paper Transport, I finally did it.”

A million miles of safe driving is something that many drivers work toward, but only an elite few ever achieve.

Craig, who currently lives in Oklahoma City, started his career working in warehousing and later moved on to driving, brokerage, dispatch, and even upper management. However, he found himself getting back behind the wheel every time.

“I like it because I’m left alone. There’s no office politics and it’s not a 9-5 job,” he says. “All I have to do is work hard and do the job as best I possibly can. That’s it.”

He joined Paper Transport about nine and a half years ago as a company driver and eventually transitioned to our lease purchase program. Over the years, he’s leased several trucks with us. Craig’s current truck is a lease-purchase he completed about 10 months ago. He is on one of our dedicated fleets and hauls paper products.

“I couldn’t have hit this milestone without the help of Paper Transport,” adds Craig. “They’ve been the biggest support. They’ve helped me when I had some hard times and there has always been someone I could reach out to if I needed something. Even when freight has been scarce, Paper Transport has come through with loads for us to do.”

The thing he likes the most about working with us is how we treat everyone like family.

“When you call someone at Paper Transport, they know you by name. They treat you right,” he says. “I’ve been in this industry a long time and some of these companies out here will really belittle you. Paper Transport sees me as a person and listens to what I have to say. It means a lot.”

For his achievement, Craig received a plaque and jacket, and we celebrated with him at our Muskogee, Okla., office. When we asked him to share advice with other drivers about being safe and working towards that million safe mile mark, Craig stressed the importance of paying attention to your surroundings and being aware of what other drivers are doing on the road.

“Always leave yourself an out. I slow down when there’s a lot of traffic to give myself enough space between me and the cars around me. There’s no load we haul that is worth losing your life over,” he adds. “I want to be safe because, just like you, I want to go home to my family.”

Craig is a grandfather of five and spends all his home time watching karate classes, cheering at their t-ball games, and taking them to the park or zoo.

We are so proud of Craig and his achievement. Congrats on a job well done!