— CHECK 4 Experience has shown Gordon Both that failing to double check the school bus at
the end of a route can compromise both child safety and a driver’s job. As owner/operator of M.L. Bradley Ltd. with wife Kathleen since 1991 — after
Kathleen inherited the business from her father, Lorne Bradley, who started it in 1965 — Both in 1993 was forced to fire a driver who accidently left a child behind on the bus. “She was a conscientious driver who simply had a change in her daily routine that
caused her to miss the check,” Both said. While regulations are in place requiring all school bus drivers to do post-trip in-
spections, too often the walk to the back of the bus is skipped, sometimes with dire consequences. Fortunately, in this case, the child was unharmed. “I wanted to do everything I could do to help drivers remember to check their bus
before getting off,” he said. “As operators, we have a duty to do all we can to ensure and maximize the safety of our passengers.” Taking the call to safety seriously, the incident inspired Both to recruit the help of
Allan Lowe in 1996, and together the co-founders launched Child Check-Mate Sys- tem Inc. Today, Both serves as president and Lowe — who recently retired from the urban bus transportation industry after 30 years as a teacher/technician — works as vice president of engineering. A family business from the start, Both, Lowe and their wives operate the Navan,
Ontario-based company with the help of four additional employees as well as a con- sulting electrical engineer.
FROM IDEA TO SAFETY SOLUTION After some false starts and a two-year lull, the path from inspiration to solution
was paved when Both and Lowe teamed up at the suggestion of their wives, who ran into each other at their kids’ local hockey arena. At the time Lowe’s wife, Deborah, was a bus driver for M.L. Bradley. Having driven a bus himself, Both knew what he wanted in the safety system, but
several other engineers weren’t able to offer a practical solution. “Te goal was to have a product that enhanced the safety of our passengers, at the
same time assisting our drivers,” he said. Within days, Lowe turned Both’s idea into a working prototype. “Tat was the
beginning of the success of Child Check-Mate,” he said. Tey tested the product on their own fleet and fine-tuned the details with “design
by drivers, for drivers.” “It has provided us with a test fleet for development of the Child Check-Mate
products,” Both said. “We used six M.L. Bradley drivers — Allan’s wife, Deborah, be- ing one of them — for input on the design of the system.” All 65 M.L. Bradley buses are equipped with Child Check-Mate, ensuring the safety
“The goal was to have a product that enhanced the safety of our passengers, at
the same time assisting our drivers.” — Gord Both, Co-founder of Child Check-Mate
www.stnonline.com 47
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