Bennett Motor Express Owner/Operator Crosses Two Million Mile Mark

Billy Cummings

For 21 years, Billy Cummings has carried freight for Bennett Motor Express (BME), so it’s no surprise that he recently passed the 2 million mile mark, and he’s done it with a perfect safety record.

That’s more than 650 accident-free trips across the United States.

Cummings attributes his lack of accidents to “knowing what I’m doing, not getting in a hurry and watching out for the other guy.” That’s why you’ll always seeing him taking his time in the right lane when he’s in metropolitan areas like Atlanta or Dallas.

His philosophy of safe driving is both simple and pragmatic. “If I’m in the middle of the road and someone stops fast, there’s nowhere for me to go,” he explained.

Along the way, he’s been almost everywhere in the 48 continental states. Los Angeles, he says, is his favorite spot “because the freight pays good, and Joan (Birdsong) is out there.”

Like many other BME drivers, Cummings has grown partial to working with a particular agent like Birdsong, who heads BME’s field office at Rancho Dominguez, Calif.

Based out of Butler, Ga., a small community 100 miles southwest of Atlanta, Cummings’ record of safe, on-time delivery has helped garner recognition from the company throughout the years, including being named BME’s 1987 Driver of the Year.