Press releases

Arriva's UK Bus division had its commitment to safety recognised and rewarded at Brake's Road Safety Awards held in Manchester yesterday (6 November). The company's achievements included six shortlistings – and resulted in wins in two categories and being 'highly commended' in two others.

Lynne Beale, who oversees risk management for the whole of Arriva's UK Bus division was delighted by the success:

Arriva puts safety at the heart of everything we do and these awards recognise and reward all the hard work put in by risk managers, inspectors, operations managers and, of course, Arriva's bus drivers and engineers.

Road safety and risk management initiatives not only benefit Arriva through reducing the number and seriousness of incidents our vehicles are involved in but also improve road safety for all other road users.

The winning entries were both from Arriva North West. Kevin Storey was named as 'Risk Manager of the Year' for the efforts he makes to ensure that bus drivers make the company aware of any safety concerns on routes in Arriva North West's operating area and that the company's safety procedures are always innovative and appropriate.

Arriva North West 's work with employees, Transport and General Workers Union (TGWU) and partners such as Merseytunnels was also a winner in the 'Road Safety in the Community' Award - led by the drivers themselves. The award recognises Arriva's pro-active approach to ensuring road safety - identifying accident hotspots and working with the tunnel operators to draft guidelines for safer travel through the tunnels.

Arriva Southern Counties was named runner up in the Crash Analysis Procedure Award for procedures where all incidents - however minor - are recorded and analysed to see whether any medical or training intervention is needed.

Arriva's UK Bus division was the runner up in the Safe Vehicle Maintenance Award for a CD-Rom indicating the importance of and procedure for 'first-use inspection checks' - the checks which all drivers perform before a bus leaves the garage for its first journey of the day.

Brake is a road safety charity dedicated to stopping deaths and injuries on roads through awareness-raising campaigns and educational resources.

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