Houston-Area Students Receive Safer School Bus Rides This Year

HOUSTON, Aug. 20, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Rain-X® announced a year-long commitment to keeping Houston-area kids safer this school year with a donation to the Spring Independent School District (ISD) Transportation Department. In preparation for the 2014-15 school year, the department received Rain-X 2-in-1 Glass Cleaner with Rain Repellent and Rain-X All-Season Windshield Washer Fluid for its fleet of 440 buses and other vehicles. The fleet serves 22,612 Houston-area students on 259 buses daily.

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As a Houston-based company, Rain-X, a part of ITW Global Brands automotive product portfolio, wanted to give back to its local community in the best way it knew how – helping drivers outsmart the elements in even the most unpredictable weather conditions.

"Houston is our hometown, which is why we at Rain-X are committed to ensuring the safest ride possible for children in the community this school year. Our hope is that through this donation families will feel more confident sending their children to school on the bus in wet-weather conditions, knowing that our products are helping to keep drivers' visibility clear and student passengers safer as a result," said Debbie Hodson, Director of Marketing Communications for ITW Global Brands.

In addition to keeping windshields their cleanest, Rain-X formula also repels rain, sleet and snow with its water-beading technology. This technology causes water on the vehicle windshield to bead up and roll away, enhancing driving visibility in inclement conditions. In tests conducted by the University of Michigan, better visibility from use of windshield treatments like Rain-X led to improved response time of up to a full second or more, which at highway speeds is equivalent to almost four car lengths of extra stopping distance.[1]

With greater visibility, school bus drivers can ensure safer rides to and from school for students, granting parents greater peace of mind when sending their children on the bus.

"We are so excited about our partnership with Rain-X this school year. Through this donation, our drivers will have the very best products to keep them prepared in even the most unpredictable weather. This also evokes a greater trust in parents and families who know we are dedicated to giving their kids the safest ride to and from school that we possibly can," said Brian Weisinger, Director of Transportation for Spring ISD Transportation Department.

Rain-X will also donate its 2-in-1 Glass Cleaner with Rain Repellent to the Cypress-Fairbanks ISD Transportation Services Department, which transports nearly 70,000 students every day on its 942 buses, furthering Rain-X's goal to provide the safest ride to school for children in the Houston area.

About ITW Global Brands
ITW Global Brands, known for continuous innovation in leading automotive brands like Rain-X® (www.rainx.com), Black Magic®, Gumout® and Slick 50®, is part of ITW Performance Polymers & Fluids (www.itwperformers.com), a Division of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (ITW, www.itw.com). A Fortune 200 global diversified industrial manufacturer of value added consumables and specialty equipment with related service businesses, ITW's revenues totaled $14.1 billion in 2013. 

[1] The University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute. The influence of hydrophobic windshield coating on driver visual performance. July 1997.

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SOURCE Rain-X (R)