For Immediate Release
Contact: Mike Charbonneau, 919-485-7413
Honk if you love the fact that GoDurham bus operators are not only friendly and professional but also some of the safest drivers around.
Over 90 days and across nearly 800,000 miles, the agency’s 112 drivers had no preventable accidents. It’s a milestone Matthew Wrenn, GoDurham’s safety manager, hasn’t seen in his eight years on the job.
“Our operators are exceedingly skilled,” Wrenn says. “One of drivers, Derrick Hayes, recently won first place in the regional Roadeo. The bus operators love that their safety record is being recognized. We’re getting praise over the radio, giving them gifts and showering them with appreciation here."
Nationally, transit systems experienced an average of three accidents per every million miles driven in 2015.
GoDurham has worked hard to encourage operator and passenger safety. “We have meetings every month that isolate topics that pop up, things like intersection safety, pedestrian safety,” Wrenn says. “We put everyone through road course tests to freshen their skills. We are just constantly talking about safety.
Every Monday, in fact, GoDurham sends a text blast to its bus operators with a safety message: “Turn your attention to accident prevention,” “Remember the five rules of intersection safety” and “Remember safety is everyone’s responsibility” are some recent topics.
“To travel this far with no accidents just doesn’t happen very often industrywide,” Wrenn says. “This is a major accomplishment, all thanks to the dedication of our bus operators and safety personnel.”