Megabus.com keeps holiday travel fun with new safety campaign

ELIZABETH, N.J., Nov. 19, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Megabus.com, the popular city-to-city, express bus service and EndDD.org are reminding Americans to travel safely during the Thanksgiving travel rush – historically one of the year's most dangerous weeks for traffic crashes. Travelers are encouraged to use the hashtag #DistractedRiding to share the joy of travel out of the driver's seat – a recognition of the value of traveling by bus and the dangers of distracted driving.

"Thanksgiving is a notoriously dangerous holiday with so many travelers on the road and distracted driving continues to play a large role in many of these accidents. The best way we know how to keep people from driving distracted is to put them on a bus where they can safely enjoy travel time," said megabus.com CEO Linda Burtwistle.

Megabus.com and EndDD.org, an organization dedicated to inspiring individuals and communities to take action to end distracted driving, are educating travelers and suggesting alternatives, such as taking the bus where distracted riding is encouraged.

"Studies show that distracted driving kills nine people every day and injures another 1,100," says Joel Feldman, founder of EndDD whose 21 year-old daughter Casey was killed by a distracted driver. "We need to continue to raise awareness of this issue, break the habit and find alternatives like taking city-to-city bus to your destination. When you're on the bus you're free to be on your phone as much as you want without worrying about doing harm to yourself or others."

AAA Travel projects nearly 47 million Americans will travel away from home over the long Thanksgiving weekend and could be the biggest travel-by-car event since 2007.

"We look forward to seeing and sharing all of the fun people are having on the bus being as distracted as they choose to be with our free onboard Wi-Fi," added Burtwistle.

The facts:

• Each day in the United States, more than nine people are killed and more than 1,153 people are injured in crashes that are reported to involve a distracted driver (CDC)
• At any given daylight moment across America, approximately 660,000 drivers are using cell phones or manipulating electronic devices while driving, a number that has held steady since 2010 (NHTSA).
• In 2012, 3,328 people were killed in crashes involving a distracted driver, compared to 3,360 in 2011. An additional, 421,000 people were injured in motor vehicle crashes involving a distracted driver in 2012, a 9 percent increase from the 387,000 people injured in 2011 (Distraction.gov)
• In 2011, nearly one in five crashes (17 percent) in which someone was injured involved distracted driving (NHTSA)
• Drivers in their 20s make up 27 percent of the distracted drivers in fatal crashes (Distraction.gov)
• 69 percent of drivers in the United States ages 18-64 reported that they had talked on their cell phone while driving within the 30 days before they were surveyed (CDC)
• 31 percent of U.S. drivers ages 18-64 reported that they had read or sent text messages or email messages while driving at least once within the 30 days before they were surveyed (CDC)

Megabus.com high-resolution photos and broadcast-quality video for download:

PHOTOS: http://bit.ly/photosForMedia

B-ROLL VIDEO: http://bit.ly/1wUTlE1

ABOUT MEGABUS.COM
Megabus.com, one of the largest privately funded providers of city-to-city express bus transportation, maintains the highest (Satisfactory) safety compliance rating with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Transportation Safety Exchange (TSX), an independent safety rating organization that provides safety ratings of more than 300,000 passenger and freight carriers, announced in January 2014 that all megabus.com carriers are TSX-approved. Megabus.com is the first carrier group to achieve TSX approval, demonstrating the most stringent safety standards in the industry.

Megabus.com operates service to/from more than 120 major cities in North America from 23 hubs in Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Buffalo, Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Gainesville, Los Angeles, Memphis, Mobile, New Orleans, New York, Orlando, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Richmond, San Francisco, St. Louis, Texas Triangle (Austin, Dallas, Houston, San Antonio), Washington, D.C. and Toronto – creating more than 1,000 new, professional jobs during the past eight years. 

Since its launch on April 10, 2006, megabus.com has served more than 50 million customers.

Service for megabus.com operates daily. Fares shown are one-way and include all government taxes.  

* Watch the safety information video. 

Megabus.com is a subsidiary of Coach USA, one of the largest transportation companies in North America. Paramus, N.J.-based Coach USA owns and operates a family of 25 local companies in North America, some that have been in business for more than 75 years, which operate scheduled bus routes, motor coach tours, airport transportation services, charters and sightseeing tours. 

For the latest news and travel deals, follow megabus.com on Twitter at @megabus and Like us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/megabus.com.officialpage.  

About EndDD
End Distracted Driving is sponsored by the Casey Feldman Foundation and is dedicated to inspiring individuals and communities to take action to end distracted driving. The Casey Feldman Foundation was established in 2009 in memory of Casey A. Feldman who was just 21-years old when she was struck by a distracted driver in July 2009.

In honor of all families who have lost a loved one to distracted driving, or have come dangerously close, End Distracted Driving seeks to passionately advocate, educate, and support efforts to eliminate distracted driving. To date, EndDD has educated more than 250,000 teens and adults about the dangers of distracted driving. Download and sign the Family Safe Driving Agreement here: http://enddd.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/EndDD-Family-Safe-General.pdf.

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20151119/289520

SOURCE Megabus.com

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