Wow: Swift Trucker Racks Up 4.5 Million Miles of Safe Driving

Racking up seven-figure mileage during a truck driving career is something to be proud of. Doing it more than four times over with no lost-time accidents? Come on. That’s stellar. It’s also exactly what Lori Simba accomplished during her 35-year career spent largely with Swift Transportation.

Take that, super truckers.

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Simba began her trucking career at a company called MNX in 1988. Swift later bought out the logistics firm and Simba stayed on. She went on to accumulate 4.5 million miles of safe driving, flying in the face of the stereotypes people so often associate with Swift.

I’ve heard the jokes as long as I can remember. Anytime a semi-truck was wrapped up in an accident, someone would quip, “It must’ve been a Swift driver.” People also made up fake acronyms that I won’t repeat here. Much to my surprise once I became an adult and started working with people from all over the country, they were in on the joke too. The company, for reasons warranted or unwarranted, has an unfortunate reputation for inexperienced drivers making goofball mistakes. It’s even carried on to social media as there’s a bunch of TikTok videos on the topic, plus a Facebook group with more than 200,000 members dedicated to posting Swift’s screw-ups (but please, for the love of all that’s good and holy, don’t join it. I just checked and it’s worse than I remember).

The truth is, Swift has a ton of trucks on the road—more than 23,000 according to… this law firm that apparently specializes in Swift trucking accidents. Because it has so many, there are bound to be drivers with all levels of experience hauling freight down the road with the instantly recognizable Swift Transportation logo on the side. And anyone who drives a truck professionally can probably tell you that some of the best and most respectable drivers work for Swift.

“If you had the pleasure of working with Lori or meeting her, you’d agree that she is the kindest person,” Swift said on social media in its announcement of Simba’s retirement. “Lori loves to talk about her family, the amazing people she has met on the road, and her long career here at Swift. She has helped countless drivers find their footing in the trucking world as a mentor for many years and has left a significant imprint here.”

And in her own post about retirement, Simba said, “Although it is time to start a new path in my life, I can look back and smile at the rewarding career I have had with this, my company. Thank you for all the wonderful memories. Thank you for the enormous amount of respect always shown toward me. Thank you, also, for treating me like an equal.”

Here’s to an awesome retirement, ma’am. And Swift, keep your head up high. You have some real keepers in your fleet that deserve recognition. As for the others who sign on to Swift despite not knowing how to keep it between the lines, please turn on your hazards and honk really loud so we know you’re coming.

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