First Transit Kicks off Annual 'Focus on Safety' Program

Aug. 19, 2015

In the company’s ongoing dedication to safety, First Transit recently kicked off its “Focus on Safety” program for another year. This program is designed to emphasize the importance of continually performing root causal analysis on any issues that arise and to determine how best to improve performance.

“First Transit remains focused on improving the knowledge, foresight, awareness, judgment and skills of our employees,” said Tom Harris, First Transit vice president of safety. “This process involves all of our employees, from drivers to location managers, to regional leaders.”

This year’s safety program is Olympic-themed, supporting the ideals of World Class Safety.

First Transit Driver Willie Carter helped with this year’s kick-off at the company’s corporate offices in Cincinnati. “When it was time for First Transit to launch our World Class Safety Olympics,” Harris said, “the obvious choice of torch bearer was Safety Olympian Willie Carter.”

Carter, a First Transit driver for Escambia County Area Transit (ECAT) in Pensacola, Florida, was selected as torch bearer because of his own demonstrated dedication to safety. Having been an ECAT driver since 1974, Carter has driven 40-plus years without incident. On his travels from Pensacola to First Transit corporate offices in Cincinnati, Carter carried a representative safety torch. During a very special opening ceremony, Carter had the honor of presenting the Olympic Torch to First Transit President Brad Thomas and Safety Vice President Tom Harris.

For his own outstanding driving record with ECAT, Carter then received a First Transit Olympic Safety Award. In presenting the award to Carter, President Brad Thomas stated, “It’s an honor to present this award to Willie Carter for his outstanding performance and his demonstration of First Transit’s dedication to safety.”