DALLAS (Feb. 4, 2008) – A reported 16,000 school bus collisions occur annually nationwide, resulting in 12,000 injuries and 130 deaths, many of which can be attributed to driver negligence and improper training. In response, Vertical Alliance Group, Inc., online publisher of trucking safety and recruiting Web sites, has introduced www.SafePupilTransport.com, a comprehensive safety training resource for school bus drivers to help reduce the likelihood of collisions and other incidents.

SafePupilTransport.com gives school districts nationwide the opportunity to offer convenient, proactive safety training to both full-time and extracurricular school bus drivers. Combining professional online training videos, which run five to six minutes each, with synchronized presentations and follow-up testing, SafePupilTransport.com provides a total safety training solution not previously available to school districts and their bus drivers.

"Traditionally, when a candidate passed the commercial driver's license test there was no further safety training required by school districts to drive a school bus,” said Vertical Alliance Group president and CEO Jay Wommack. "We found this lack of proactive or remedial training to be potentially problematic, particularly for extracurricular drivers like coaches and teachers who do not operate a school bus on a day-to-day basis.”

Vertical Alliance Group developed SafePupilTransport.com to provide an affordable, comprehensive solution for school districts to offer periodic "refresher” training, which fosters a safer school bus environment according to Wommack.

"Unfortunately, school districts often don't realize what they could prevent until they know what they didn't prevent,” Wommack said. "Student safety is a top priority for every school district, and using the training videos available on SafePupilTransport.com can make the school bus experience that much safer.”

Completely Web-based, SafePupilTransport.com's training courses consist of several concise modules, which include professional videos, slide presentations and content tests. Each participating school district receives its own customized training site including its own "look” and logo, and secure login information for each enrolled driver.

Examples of training topics covered by SafePupilTransport.com include:
• Emergency evacuation
• Approach and maintenance
• Distracted driver – cell phones
• Instruments and brakes
• Railroad crossing

Additionally, SafePupilTransport.com offers commercial driver's license training and recruiting.

The cost for a district to enroll its school bus drivers in SafePupilTransport.com's safety training is $20 per driver per year, which Vertical Alliance Group estimates will total less than $1,000 annually for most districts.

To learn more about SafePupilTransport.com, or to request a free live video demonstration, please contact Vertical Alliance at 877-792-3866. More information is also available online at www.SafePupilTransport.com.