Bus Drivers Honored for Millions of Miles of Safe Driving

Four Community Transit drivers receive award that includes a bus named for them

Snohomish County, Wash. – It would take the average American driver nearly 150 years to rack up two million miles on the road– and what are the chances of that driver doing it without a preventable accident?

Darren “Casey” Noblick did it in 26 years by driving a bus with Community Transit.

The agency recently honored Noblick with a Two Million Mile driver award. Three other bus drivers -- Ron Holmes, Alva Lissner and Dave Shultz – received Million Mile driver awards.

When asked what it took to drive so many miles without an avoidable accident, Noblick said that it’s a matter of keeping in mind exactly what can happen if something goes wrong. “I’m a 60-foot missile going down the road. If someone pulls out too slowly or makes a wrong turn, it’s a potential disaster,” he said.

Noblick, who began driving for Community Transit in 1991, is now one of five Two Million Mile drivers currently on the road for the Snohomish County transit agency.

The National Safety Council sets the strict standard for a Million Mile Award, and it takes about 12.5 years of full-time driving without a preventable accident to earn it.

Customer service skills aren’t a requirement for receiving the award. But Community Transit transportation director Fred Worthen says that he’s never seen a Million Mile Driver awardee “without a long list of customer service commendations in their record.”

This group is no different; each of them has received numerous letters of customer commendation.

All awardees receive a Million Mile jacket, plaque, certificate and pin, and a decal on a Community Transit bus with their name on it.

Community Transit is responsible for providing bus and paratransit service, vanpool and alternative commute options in Snohomish County. The agency is building a network of Swift bus rapid transit lines with Swift Blue Line along Highway 99 and the Swift Green Line between Canyon Park/Bothell and Boeing/Paine Field coming in 2019.