WARRENVILLE, Ill., Sept. 21, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Children have returned to school for another productive year, and if they are riding a school bus operated by National Express Corporation (NEC), their daily trip is safer than ever. The second-largest school bus provider in North America improved its safety performance for the first six months of 2012, further demonstrating that there is no safer way to travel than on one of its school buses.
"We are so committed to safety that it plays a role in everything we do," said Michele McDermott, senior vice president of Safety. "Every employee is trained to think safety first."
NEC is made up of Durham School Services and Petermann in the United States, and Stock Transportation in Canada. All together, the fleet of more than 20,000 school buses reduced total vehicle accidents per million miles by 23 percent. The analysis compared results from January through June of 2012 to the same six-month period last year.
"This safety improvement is a significant achievement in our industry," McDermott said. "I'm proud of the commitment our bus drivers have made to increasing student safety."
NEC's industry-leading policy on child checks also yielded strong results for the first half of 2012. Durham, Petermann and Stock drivers found more than 200 children on their school buses when performing child checks at the end of their routes, keeping those children from being left unattended. Drivers walk slowly through the bus and check in and under every seat.
"Our drivers embrace our zero tolerance policy when it comes to performing child checks, and they do them thoroughly and consistently," said CEO David A. Duke. "We know children fall asleep on buses, so child checks are a necessary component of providing safe student transportation. We couldn't take it more seriously."
Contributing to NEC's systemwide increase in safety in 2012 are a comprehensive driver training program and year-round safety competitions between NEC divisions that keep safety top of mind.
"Our driver training and area safety initiatives are effective because our drivers care," McDermott said. "Everyone gets into it, gets motivated and has fun with it. It's our way of making sure kids get to school safe, on time and ready to learn."
Blaine Krage
Office: 630.821.5635
Cell: 630.210.6536
blaine.krage@nationalexpresscorp.com
About our company
Durham School Services, Stock Transportation and Petermann make up National Express Corporation (NEC) , headquartered in Warrenville, Ill. As a leader in student transportation, NEC is committed to exceptional safety, outstanding customer service and positive employee relations. Durham (United States), Stock (Canada) and Petermann (Ohio) operate more than 20,000 buses and serve 450 school districts in 32 states and 4 provinces. For more information, visit durhamschoolservices.com, stocktransportation.com or petermannbus.com.
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