Tuesday, May 15th, Paul Schneider, Rodney Overgaard and I met with Jay Rogers, Mollie Jones, and Karen Simon regarding the rash of accidents incurred recently, particularly the number of unreported accidents. It is important for all employees to know that failure to report an accident, verbally through Operations at time of occurrence, and in writing within twenty-four (24) hours, can lead to termination. Given the number of unreported accidents, eight* (8) since March 21, 2007, I would imagine discipline will come into play.

Any time the vehicle makes contact with another object, stationary or mobile, an accident report must be made, according to company policy. We know that with all past accidents having been ruled preventable for simply showing up for work, there is a certain reluctance to submit an accident report for every paint scuff. I can tell you that Jay Rogers has suggested an accident review board, a concept supported by Jeremy Butzlaff. If all agree that findings by the review board will be binding, then each accident will be reviewed by a board of five, comprised of drivers (presumable two), non-drivers (presumably two), and a manager or representative from Safety.

One aspect was discussed at this meeting for which I am particularly concerned. Of the twenty-eight (28) accidents involving thirty (30) of our coaches that have occurred since February 12th of this year, every one involved impact with a fixed stationary object! These objects do not suddenly appear in our way, which can only mean that we are not paying attention, at least not to the degree that we need to be. Perhaps fatigue is an issue, or poor mirrors, or bad lighting. Perhaps we are just finding ourselves too comfortable, too confident in our abilities, and taking our professionalism for granted. When I served as General Chairman, receiving notification from the Company of every accident incurred, consistently over ninety percent (90%) of all accidents involved fixed stationary objects. As the Company approach changes to involve drivers as trainers, hopefully we can develop an approach to eliminate collisions with fixed stationary objects. 

    * One accident was reported in writing within the prescribed timeframe, however that report was dropped into the safe, collected by accounting, and ultimately arrived in Safety several days later. No call was noted in Operations, therefore the accident is listed as "unreported".