CONFERENCE RECAP


Instead, specifically for


school buses, the industry re- lies on the National School Bus Specifications and Procedures that recommends fire-block testing of interior components such as seats, though not every state has adopted them. Tere is also a problem of fires originating in engine and battery com- partments and as a result of maintenance issues, such as equipment failure and brake friction. Complicating mat- ters is a rise of alternative fuels such as CNG. For years, fire suppres-


sion products have been on the market to especially target fires in the engine compartment. Rosen said SP Fire Protection tests show that these systems can be highly successful in dousing fires soon after they start, at least in ideal conditions. But when intro- ducing wind during tests, the systems have slowed fires but have not com- pletely doused them. Still, he pointed out, they


can buy precious time for school bus operators and student passengers to evac- uate the vehicle, and school districts and bus companies can save their total invest- ment in the bus. Tis can result in lower societal costs tied to insurance claims and health insurance premiums, but Rosen said the systems are costly at about 1 percent of the bus cost, take time to install at the OEM factory or after purchase and can be expensive to maintain. Rick Willard, a safety de-


fects engineer in NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investi- gations, told NASDPTS members that the most frequent point of origin for bus fires are the brakes, turbocharger or alternator, tires, electrical systems and wheel or hub bearings. “One good thing about


bus fires could be that we know a lot about them be- cause there are so many,” he said, pointing to National Fire Protection Association


data that suggests there are on average six bus fires that occur each day nationwide. “A lot of these fires are probably preventable.” He added that NHT- SA is especially targeting brake overheating and electrical failures resulting from corrosion.


bus threat assessment conducted by TSA and filed with Congress two years ago. As a result, TSA implemented a new High- way Baseline Assessment Security Enhancement, or BASE, program, which in 2011 took the place of the former Corporate Security Review, or CSR. Arrington


California Bus Driver Gives New Meaning to Term ‘Hero’


WRITTEN BY RYAN GRAY C


Six former NAPT presidents are shown prior to their Sunday panel session, “Wisdom of the Ages.” Joined by moderator Barry McCahill, they shared their perspectives on the last 50 years of student transportation and the growth of NAPT. Not shown is current President-Elect Don Carnahan, who previously served as an NAPT president.


THE SECURITY FRONT


NASDPTS members also again heard from William Arrington, the general man- ager of the TSA’s Office of Highway and Motor Carri- er, on the effectiveness of the First Observer program that trains school bus drivers and transportation staff along with those representing oth- er types of commercial fleets on noticing and reporting suspicious behaviors on the road or at terminals. “Tere is no actionable


intelligence that would suggest there is a plight against a school bus,” said Arrington, but pointed out that he is concerned by some 20 school bus thefts nationwide this year. “Tat causes me a lot of concern because of the untethered access that school bus- es tend to have and the amount of explosives a school bus could carry.” Tat is one scenario laid out in the federal school


8 The Show RepoRTeR • OCT 20 –25, 2012


said 36 of the 100 largest school districts have already completed BASE reviews of their school buses, and 14 of the 50 largest school bus contractors have also had their fleets reviewed. Another tool that


continues to be available to the industry is First Observer, which more than 58,000 transportation professionals have been trained in. Since June, this has included more than 5,300 student transport- ers. Additionally, of more than 12,000 phone calls to First Observer reporting suspicious activities, 432 have shown characteristics of possible terrorism plan- ning, said Charles Hall of First Observer contractor HMS Company, and 72 of those incidents directly involved school buses. Hall also added that revi-


sions to the First Observer train-the-trainer program are in the works. 


athy Snow has seen a lot in her 12 years on the job, but nothing could prepare her for Sept. 14, 2007. In a matter of minutes, the bus


driver for the Elk Grove Unified School District in Sacramento, Calif., went from dropping off her last elementary student of the day to literally holding a young life in her hands. Shortly before 2 p.m., Snow was driving in a local neighborhood when a young man ran after the bus. As Snow stopped the bus to offer assistance, the man handed her a baby covered in blood and ran off. Te 6-month-old baby boy, it turned out, had been senselessly shot, and the on-board bus video camera captured audio of Snow as she called 9-1-1 and performed first aid. While, the baby later died at a local hospital,


Snow’s life-saving efforts enabled the baby’s mother to be with him during his last moments. For that, she received the Blue Bird Heroism Award Sunday evening during the NAPT Awards Banquet.


Te incident was widely reported in local media and was a subject of several segments onf the TV show “America’s Most Wanted,” as three men were sought in connection with what authorities said was a home-invasion robbery. Tey have since been arrested. According to reports, the baby’s father had just


completed a shift at a local grocery store when he drove to a friend’s house with his six-month- old infant son. When the father arrived at the house, at least two men forced him out of his car at gunpoint and to the front door. When the resident answered, the perpetrators entered. During the resulting home invasion, the father was shot and killed. Te perpetrators then fled the scene, but not before shooting the baby still, who was still strapped into his car seat. Somehow, the resident was able to get free, grab the mortal- ly wounded baby and flag down Snow. A 16-minute video taken from the internal


camera pointeded toward the rear of the bus shows a man running after the vehicle. Snow slows to a stop and opens the loading doors. “Can you hold him for me, please? I’m tripping,” the man says before running off. Snow calls dispatch to report the emergency and to summon an ambulance as the infant is heard whimpering in the background, clearly in distress.


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