HEADLINES


Mississippi Enacts Stronger Law Governing School Bus Stop Safety


Gov. Haley Barbour signed “Nathan’s Law” last month to in-


crease school bus safety, especially at school bus stops. Senate Bill 2472 was named after 5-year-old Nathan Key, who


was killed by a motorist on Dec. 11, 2009, moments after the boy got off of his school bus. Prior to the new law, which goes into ef- fect this coming July 1, motorists were only required to come to a stop when seeing a school bus activate its flashing red lights and extend the stop arm. Nathan’s Law dictates that motorists must now come to a stop 10 feet from the bus. Tat worries Jean Jones, the transportation supervisor for Wilkinson County School Dis- trict in Woodville, a rural area located about halfway between Natchez to the west and Hattiesburg to the east. “I really don’t think 10 feet is far enough,” said Jones, who is also


the president of the Mississippi Association for Pupil Transporta- tion. “Most of the people are going at such a rate of speed you have to give them a little bit more distance.” She explained that some students, especially the younger ones,


can suddenly dart behind the bus even though they are taught to stay to the right of the bus and only cross the street at the front of the bus. In these instances the students should receive disciplinary referrals. But the result could be worse, even tragic.


Nathan’s Law will also require motorists to stop for school


buses on highways of four lanes or more and regardless if there is a center median or turn lane or not. Motorists cannot proceed until the red lights and the stop arm are deactivated. Te penalties for illegal passing were also increased to fines of


$350 to $750 or up to a year in jail for a first conviction and fines up to $1,500 and a year in jail for a second. Motorists convicted of injuring or killing a child while running a school bus stop can also be sentenced up to 20 years in prison. School districts are now authorized to equip buses with stop-


arm cameras to catch perpetrators in the act. “I would love to have some myself,” said Jones. She explained


that many of her routes traverse narrow, curvy country roads that are traveled by 18 wheelers at high speeds. Previously, school bus drivers would need to record the license plate, vehicle descrip- tion and time and location of the violation and turn the report into the local Sheriff’s office. Nathan’s Law also prohibits school bus drivers from using cell


phones, wireless communication devices, vehicle navigation systems or “personal digital assistants” while operating the bus, except in an emergency. ■


Training Offers Drivers a Way Out from Violent Situations We’ve all seen the videos either online


or during the evening news of students at- tacking not only other students on the bus but bus drivers. In one graphic instance, a Kalamazoo, Mich., substitute driver is beaten after making an unscheduled stop. Te video of the attack is horrific, and it is one that Al Dollar uses to introduce school bus drivers to the concept that they need to learn to stop these types of situations from ever happening, a training he calls “Te Perfect Ride.” Te concept for the training came


from Ed Kendzierski, formerly Sure-Lok’s product development manager, who has known Dollar for a number of years. “Last August I was at the gym with Ed


and he said, ‘School bus drivers are getting their butts kicked. What can you bring to the table to prevent something like that?’” recalled Dollar, whose company Executive


Professional Services offers personal secu- rity, investigation, in-house termination, and workplace violence training services. “My partner Monty Mainey and I started


going on the internet and searched for these videos, and we found examples in almost every state of drivers getting attacked. We realized that in every video we saw we could have at least mitigated, if not eliminated, the incident from ever happening.” Dollar and Mainey, who both served


as police officers in Southern California, began contacting the districts associated with the videos and were shocked to dis- cover that none of the drivers were trained to handle these types of situations. Te duo then put together a program that helped bus drivers protect themselves, which they have presented in three differ- ent states so far — California Washington and Nevada.


30 School Transportation News Magazine May 2011 “Tis was something I had never seen


before,” said Nevada State Director Diana Hollander, who brought Dollar to one of the state’s trainer conferences. “We don’t teach drivers how to defend and diffuse really hostile situations on buses. Te trainers that were there loved it.” Although Dollar understandably


re-


frained from providing too much detail, he offered one simple solution for drivers if a student gets too aggressive. “Stop the bus, put on your red warn-


ing lights and start blaring the horn,” explained Dollar. “It’s like when a thief tries breaking into a home or car and a loud alarm goes off. Tey will get scared and try to get away.” Dollar was scheduled to present at the


annual California Association of School Transportation Officials state conference at the time of this writing. ■


L: 7 x 10


T: 7.875 x 10.5


B: 8.75 x 11.25


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