ITASCA, Ill. — The National Safety Council (NSC) is seeking participants from the school transportation industry for its new Fleet Benchmarking Survey.

NSC is a nonprofit international public service organization dedicated to preventing accidental injuries and deaths through safety education.

NSC will compile statistics and benchmarking data for organizations to use as an educational tool, including fleet accident rate statistics and industry trends.

The statistical information will be based on self-reported information provided by participating organizations. Submissions will be analyzed by NSC’s Research and Statistics department, and the results will be published in its annual Injury Facts reference materials and elsewhere. Reported data will be categorized by vehicle type.

Participants will receive a complimentary copy of all benchmarking materials prior to publication. Preliminary samples of the data are slated for publication in November, and finalized results are scheduled for publication in January.

NSC defines a fleet as five or more vehicles of a single type having identical operations and operating as a single unit — such as school buses, passenger cars or trucks.

NSC has compiled a variety of school bus safety resources on its Website at http://nsc.org/resources/Factsheets/#bus.

Data reported by Sept. 12 was included in NSC’s presentation to Congress. The deadline for reported data to be included in the next edition of Injury Facts is Oct. 20.

To complete the survey, visit http://survey.nsc.org and click on “Surveys” and then on “Fleet Safety.” For more information, e-mail awards@nsc.org or call (630) 775-2366.