Mary White has been a professional driver since 2008. After moving to Missouri from Alaska, Mary soon pursued a career in truck driving and eight years later she has driven one million safe miles.

Mary recently shared her professional advice and best practices in hopes to help others avoid distracted driving.

Q. Do you think distracted driving is as big of a problem as you hear about?

A. You see it all the time. You can see [drivers] texting, messing around on their phone. One time, a lady was on her phone and I just knew she was going to do something. I had this feeling, so I was prepared. I gave her a cushion and [sure] enough she pulled over in front of [my] truck. If I hadn’t had had been prepared [and] watched her, I would have hit her.

Q. How as a professional, do you avoid distractions?

A. I didn’t want to tempt myself and I didn’t need all the distraction. I have a flip phone. I put it in the back of the truck when I’m driving. You see all the accidents and they [almost always] have a phone involved.

Q. How do you stress the importance of safe driving to your family and friends?

A. I talk to them about their phones and the importance of staying safe.

Q. Do you have any advice for fellow drivers, if so what is it?

A. We are the professional. You need to get out and look and pay attention to what’s around you. I had gotten angry at other cars, like the example I mentioned above, but I’m the professional. You can see a car that’s distracted. [We all] need to be ready to act like the professional because they are not. To accomplish this, [driving a million miles] you have to stay safe. Get out and look.