Four Lassen High School District Bus Drivers
March 4, 1975
Four Lassen High School District bus drivers were recently presented with Certificates of Achievement by the California Highway Patrol’s Susanville commander, Lt. Harold S. Williams in recognition of their outstanding accomplishment of driving school buses without a preventable accident on California Highways.
In order to be eligible for such an award a driver must have either driven a school bus 100,000 miles without a preventable accident or have been employed as a school bus driver at least 10 years without a preventable accident.
The latest awards were presented Feb. 19, in conjunction with a training program for school bus drivers conducted by the Highway Patrol at the Lassen High Maintenance Shed.
Pictured above from left are LHS District Transportation Supervisor Hap Carter and those receiving certificates including Violet Rose Zangger, Beatrice Elaine Rose and Leighton Frank Ratkey. Not pictured is another achievement winner Jay Bliss McKennon.
According to Lt. Williams, the Lassen High District has 22 buses and employs 23 drivers who travel a total of more than 300,000 miles per school year. Last year there was only one minor accident involving a school bus and the bus driver was deemed not at fault.
In comparison, the larger cities such as Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Sacramento have many more people, many more buses and thus more accidents. During the 1973-74 fiscal year there were 355 school bus accidents in Los Angeles where there are 2,893 buses running; 62 accidents in San Francisco where there are 321 buses in operation and 48 accidents in Sacramento which has 509 school buses running.
