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Just a few months ago, XPO logistics, a North American player in less-than truckload (LTL) freight transportation, announced that long-time truck driver David Frazier has exceeded four million accident-free miles in his LTL career — the highest driver safety record in XPO’s history. The company tracks accident-free miles as part of its Road to Zero driver safety program and Frazier was one of the bright spots. But not the only one. The company had also been honored by multiple periodicals in recent years.
Then, on December 16, 2022, just after 6:30 am, Franklin Police and Fire Department units were dispatched to the XPO Logistics unit at 176 Grove Street, for a report of an injured person who was not breathing. Emergency crews provided medical treatment and the individual, later identified as Cloutier Perez, 31, of Providence, was transported to the Milford Hospital where he was pronounced dead. According to reports, a truck delivering a dumpster unit was involved in the incident.
Since then, the investigation has been in the hands of police and the district attorney, but no results have been forthcoming.
Whether blame will fall on the company remains to be seen.
XPO is a nationwide concern operating in an industry with a lot of inherent danger. Indeed, a review of OSHA reports and violations available online is lengthy. In one incident in 2018, two XPO employees were killed in Lockport, NY when they were crushed by a falling stone slab. According to the OSHA database, at 2:00 a.m. on June 25, 2018, Employees #1 and #2 were inspecting slabs of synthetic granite countertops that had been removed from a shipping container and were leaning up against its wall. During inspection, several of the slabs fell and crushed Employee #1 and #2, resulting in their death.
However, despite such grim events, XPO was recently named by Newsweek as one of America’s Most Responsible Companies for a third year.
Newsweek said it selects the most responsible US public companies in partnership with research firm Statista. The two organizations analyze 2,000 candidates using more than 30 key performance indicators, publicly available information and a reputational survey of US residents.
Earlier in 2022, XPO was named one of America’s Best Large Employers by Forbes magazine, and was named a 2022 Top Company for Women to Work For by the Women in Trucking Association. XPO has been recognized four times by Fortune magazine as one of the World’s Most Admired Companies.
Frazier, the 4-million-mile-man, began driving LTL tractors in 1987 with Con-way, which was acquired by XPO in 2015. His groundbreaking four millionth mile was documented at the company’s terminal in Kernersville, North Carolina, where he has been based for over 34 years. It can take a professional truck driver nine years on average to cover one million miles, making Frazier’s accomplishment even more remarkable, given his tenure. The company has honored Frazier with a team celebration in Kernersville attended by district, region and corporate leaders. He also received the keys to a brand new XPO tractor with a customized cab design that displays his name and record achievement.
As far as official reaction to the Franklin mishap, an XPO spokesperson would only say, “Our thoughts are with the individual’s family and friends. We will continue to provide the authorities with assistance needed for their investigation.”
