Saturday, January 12, 2013
Wednesday, January 9, 2013
Tuesday, January 8, 2013
Safe Driver Hall of Fame
Safe driving over the span of a career that covers more than
three-million miles requires the highest standards in every facet of the
job from driver behavior and passenger awareness to exacting vehicle
maintenance. The National Safety Council says fewer than 200 drivers
ever achieve this status.
Inductees into the Safe Driver Hall of Fame presented by 5Star Specialty Programs.
Emory Hysell, a veteran driver for Greyhound Bus Lines, and Russ Lippincott and Lee Roy Weems of Village Charters and Tours, Wichita, KS, and Oklahoma City, OK, have each crossed the rarified threshold without a recordable accident.
The 2010 inductees join previous Safe Driver Hall of Fame members (2008) Aubrey Hutchings, K-T Contract Services, Elko, NV, and (2009) Edward C. Hope and Everett L. Anderson, Peter Pan Bus Lines, Springfield, MA.
Emory Hysell
Greyhound Bus Lines
Emory Hysell, has driven motorcoaches for more than 50 years and estimates he has driven 4,500,000 million miles with Greyhound Bus Lines. Today the company puts him at the top of its list of its Exceptionally Safe Drivers (ESDs) — drivers who have not had any traffic violations, accidents or reported incidents of unsafe driving while on duty.
Originally from Huntington, WV, Hysell currently drives the Jacksonville-to-Miami route and trains new drivers for Greyhound. His employer says he understands the importance of safety and works diligently to share his knowledge of driving with those he trains.
“Safety has always been a top priority for Greyhound and myself,” says Hysell. “I practice safe driving at all times and try to instill these same safety measures into future Greyhound drivers.”
Russ Lippincott
Village Charters and Tours
Russ Lippincott began driving coaches in 1977 for Continental Trailways, continuing through its acquisition by Greyhound. As a driver trainer for Trailways Lippincott received the Safe Driver Award every year he served with the company. He moved to independent charter coaches in 1985, driving one winter for Prestige Charters, and a short stint with Kincaid Coach before joining Village Charters & Tours full time in 1988. Lippincott has logged 2,550,000 miles in his 33-year career. In that time he has two recordable accidents, one in which he was at fault. To his credit, Lippincott has not put so much as a scratch on a coach in the last 10 years.
Lee Roy Weems
Village Charters and Tours
Lee Roy Weems also drove for Continental Trailways beginning in 1974. In 1985 he left to help found Prestige Charters, Wichita, KS, then formed his own travel agency in Hays, KS. In 1989 he sold his shares of Prestige to join Village Charters & Tours, driving full time up until 2007 and continues part-time. Over the span of 36 years, Weems has logged 2,700,000 mile without a recordable accident and only one scratch on a coach in the last 10 years. Weems also received the Trailways Safe Driver Award every year he drove for that company.
Inductees into the Safe Driver Hall of Fame presented by 5Star Specialty Programs.
Emory Hysell, a veteran driver for Greyhound Bus Lines, and Russ Lippincott and Lee Roy Weems of Village Charters and Tours, Wichita, KS, and Oklahoma City, OK, have each crossed the rarified threshold without a recordable accident.
The 2010 inductees join previous Safe Driver Hall of Fame members (2008) Aubrey Hutchings, K-T Contract Services, Elko, NV, and (2009) Edward C. Hope and Everett L. Anderson, Peter Pan Bus Lines, Springfield, MA.
Emory HysellGreyhound Bus Lines
Emory Hysell, has driven motorcoaches for more than 50 years and estimates he has driven 4,500,000 million miles with Greyhound Bus Lines. Today the company puts him at the top of its list of its Exceptionally Safe Drivers (ESDs) — drivers who have not had any traffic violations, accidents or reported incidents of unsafe driving while on duty.
Originally from Huntington, WV, Hysell currently drives the Jacksonville-to-Miami route and trains new drivers for Greyhound. His employer says he understands the importance of safety and works diligently to share his knowledge of driving with those he trains.
“Safety has always been a top priority for Greyhound and myself,” says Hysell. “I practice safe driving at all times and try to instill these same safety measures into future Greyhound drivers.”
Russ LippincottVillage Charters and Tours
Russ Lippincott began driving coaches in 1977 for Continental Trailways, continuing through its acquisition by Greyhound. As a driver trainer for Trailways Lippincott received the Safe Driver Award every year he served with the company. He moved to independent charter coaches in 1985, driving one winter for Prestige Charters, and a short stint with Kincaid Coach before joining Village Charters & Tours full time in 1988. Lippincott has logged 2,550,000 miles in his 33-year career. In that time he has two recordable accidents, one in which he was at fault. To his credit, Lippincott has not put so much as a scratch on a coach in the last 10 years.
Lee Roy WeemsVillage Charters and Tours
Lee Roy Weems also drove for Continental Trailways beginning in 1974. In 1985 he left to help found Prestige Charters, Wichita, KS, then formed his own travel agency in Hays, KS. In 1989 he sold his shares of Prestige to join Village Charters & Tours, driving full time up until 2007 and continues part-time. Over the span of 36 years, Weems has logged 2,700,000 mile without a recordable accident and only one scratch on a coach in the last 10 years. Weems also received the Trailways Safe Driver Award every year he drove for that company.
Three tools I won’t leave home without
Three tools I won’t leave home without
By Bob BergeyWe all have certain items we take on our bus trips, especially those of us who do charter trips around the country. A couple of snacks, bottle of water, travel pillow for a nap and my camera are a few of my favorite things I almost always bring along.
But I have three electronic tools — some would call them gadgets — that I’ll never again leave home without.
One is my cell phone. Ever leave home without it? You feel half dressed, don’t you? About a month ago I managed to walk out of the house without mine, not discovering it until it was too late to return for it. I could hardly wait to get home again. What did I miss? Fortunately it was just a short day trip, and as it turned out I didn’t miss anything at all.
Second is my GPS receiver. I honestly believe that any driver, no matter the level of experience, benefits enough from having GPS. It is worth using on every trip. The biggest benefit for me is knowing my ETA — estimated time of arrival — and knowing whether I am ahead of schedule or running late.
You drive differently when you know you are on time. You can relax and drive more safely when you know where you stand. If you are running late, GPS gives you plenty of notice so that group leaders or others can adjust plans accordingly.
The third tool I’ll never again leave home without is my new Apple iPad. I’ve been using it just over a month now, and it has radically changed my outlook on driving. It brings the huge world of information online right into your hands, no matter where you are. Maps, websites, communications, entertainment and more are literally in the palms of your hands.
I’ll talk more about the iPad in future posts. But let me just mention for now a couple of the apps I use most and am coming to rely on daily.
Number one is the Maps app. Based on Google Maps, my favorite online mapping site, it instantly gives you detailed maps for any part of the U.S. or Canada you might be in (and, I’m sure, other parts of the world, too, but that’s out of my range of experience).
Push the little Compass button, and the GPS chip built into the iPad centers the map over the exact spot you’re in right now. As you drive along, the blue dot marking your location stays centered on the display as the map moves along behind it, so you can always see what’s around you in all directions. Now, you don’t want to take your eyes off the road, but a glance when you’re sitting at a light can be invaluable. And for doing your homework, there’s nothing quite like it; I prefer it over my laptop or desktop Macs. Directions to your destination are available too.
Second is the Inrix Traffic app. All you need to do is start up the app, and it centers a Google map over your exact location, similar to the Maps app, except this time it overlays traffic info on top of all the major routes around you. Wow. I used it a couple of days ago when I was returning to the Philadelphia area from Washington, D.C. on a Monday afternoon rush hour. I could see exactly where the worst traffic tie-ups were located, and also a good escape route!
We went a few miles out of our way but never sat in traffic anywhere for more than a couple of minutes. Really cool.
Third is an app I’ve just started using — Wikipanion. It simply and beautifully provides an interface to Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia of everything. I use it to look up info on destinations and things we might see along the way. With just a few minutes of research, you become the “expert” on your trip. You may not use it every day but when you need it, it’s invaluable.
Last but not least, for now, is the AccuWeather app. You can get a gorgeous 10-day forecast for wherever you’re at or wherever you’re going (well, the weather may not be gorgeous, but the app is). Nice to have that info to pass along to passengers too.
I’m out of time and space here … see my website, eightwheels.com, for another article on the iPad. And stay tuned for more here, too!
Bob Bergey is a motorcoach driver based in Franconia, PA.
Published by Wyatt Olsen
Tuesday, January 1, 2013
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