“The BUSRide Safe Driving Hall of Fame inductees not only represent the best in the industry and provide value and security to employers and passengers, they set the highest standards for other drivers and demonstrate that this exemplary feat is attainable for millions of miles.”
– Bob Alkire, senior vice president, 5Star Specialty Programs
Two drivers from Peter Pan Bus Lines, Springfield, MA, Edward C. Hope and Everett L. Anderson representing Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1512, are the 2009 inductees into the BUSRide Driver Hall of Fame presented by 5Star Products.
They join 2008 inaugural inductee Aubrey Hutchings, K-T Contract Services, Elko, NV, in the three-million-mile circle of safe drivers.
Hope is the first motorcoach operator in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to drive three million accident-free miles. Anderson completed his 36 accident-free years in May 2008.
Both safe drivers have earned respect and recognition from their company as recipients of the coveted Peter C. Picknelly Sr. Founder’s Award for outstanding performance, along with awards from the National Safety Council.
Hope began his career as an intercity coach driver for Continental Trailways primarily along the New York-Boston corridor for the better part of 18 years and joined Peter Pan in 1986 when the company acquired the New England division.
Anderson credits caution, training, experience and luck for his hitting the three million mark. He continues to drive everywhere the job takes him and says he enjoys the view from behind the wheel every day. Originally from Tuskegee, AL, he has driven charters and line runs primarily in the heavily congested Northeast corridor where his celebrity passengers included the late Senator Ted Kennedy. BR
High standards for the chosen few
The National Safety Council says fewer than 200 drivers ever achieve three million miles of accident-free driving according to 50 years of record keeping. Three million miles add up roughly to 36 years behind the wheel — or as some have noted: six runs to the moon and back. 5Star Specialty Programs, Melbourne, FL, supports the premise that safe driving over time requires high standards in every facet of the job from driver behavior and passenger awareness to exacting vehicle maintenance. BR