Al Pringle has established himself as one of the few who can claim to have driven three million miles. The Walmart driver out of the Temple Distribution Center reached the 3-million-mile milestone without having any accidents or driving infractions on his record.
Pringle has been employed with the company for about 25 years, although he began his trucking career in 1985 and has since traveled across the nation as an OTR driver, sometimes traveling for weeks at a stretch.
The Texas Department of Public Safety, along with Walmart employees, friends, and family at Temple Distribution Center threw him an extravagant celebration on October 24 to honor his accomplishment and his commitment to community safety.
RELATED STORIES
Pringle told 6News, “I’ve been in a lot of close calls, especially in the bad weather sliding around, in ice, in the mountains in Colorado.”
He proudly declared, “That truck is not going to do anything that I’m not going to allow it to do because I’m behind the wheel of it. When I came to Texas with no snow and ice and no mountains, it was a piece of cake.”
Warren Hine, General Manager of Transportation at the Texas organization, expressed, “When you think about three million miles safe, think about the folks that actually drive three million miles in their lifetime. He’s done it safe behind the wheel of an 18-wheeler coming home safe to his family each week, coming safe to us each week.”
Hine praised Pringle’s professionalism, saying, “Everything he does, when he stops, he checks his entire equipment out. When he picks up each trailer, he checks the entire trailer. When he’s out on the road, he’s a defensive driver.”
Meanwhile, Pringle believes he’s only doing what he loves.
He disclosed, “I had heard stories of this but being in the spotlight is a whole different thing. It’s totally different. I’m going to remember this the rest of my life. You gotta love what you’re doing. You really do.”
