Snohomish County, Wash. – Four Community Transit drivers were honored this week with the agency’s esteemed Million Mile Award. The drivers qualified for the honor by meeting strict National Safety Council guidelines for safe driving and reaching these extraordinary milestones without a preventable accident.

Two Million Mile Driver
Bruce Bergman was honored for reaching two million miles of safe driving. Community Transit currently has seven drivers at this status.

For Bergman, after 26 years of transit driving, this achievement is about the riders. “When I look in the mirror and people are relaxing in their seats on the bus, I know I’m doing a good job!”

Driving two million miles is the equivalent of driving from Seattle to Spokane more than 3,584 times. Bergman did this without an accident!

Million Mile Drivers
Ernie Fleming, Don Harden and Andrey Kulik reached a million miles of safe driving, joining the 50-plus drivers at the agency who have earned this distinction.

It can take about 12.5 years of full-time safe driving to reach each million-mile target. A million miles of driving is the equivalent of running more than 38,167 marathons.

“This is a big deal,” Fleming said, expressing pride in accomplishing million mile status after 16 years of transit driving. “It was a personal goal of mine to reach one million miles of safe driving.”

For Kulik, joining a legacy of safe drivers at the agency is especially important to him because he’s observed roads becoming much busier over his 18 years as a driver.

Million Mile Drivers are each presented a jacket, plaque, certificate and a pin, as well as having their name placed on one of the agency’s buses.

“The Million Mile Award is one of the most prestigious honors we present to acknowledge our drivers and their commitment to safety,” said Community Transit CEO Emmett Heath.