FIRST TAKE


Is FARS School Bus Data Worth Salvaging? Pop quiz: When was the last time you remember


reading data on fatal school bus crashes nationwide? Tose who frequent STNOnline.com might recall


an article in September on the National Highway Traf- fic Safety Administration publishing updated figures that track such incidents (see story in Industry Con- nections on page 16). But others might remember an extrapolated version of this report issued annu- ally by the California Association for School Transportation Officials that detailed information on crashes by state, county, time of day, age of child, driving conditions and an array of other criteria. Doug Snyder, a former director of transportation at a Southern Califor-


nia school district and a past-president of CASTO, would diligently crunch the numbers from NHTSA’s Fatality Analysis Report and distribute the da- tabase. He told me last month that the intent was to provide positive PR on school bus safety at back-to-school time. For an industry continually starved of data, qualitative or not, Snyder’s


extrapolation report would also uncover training needs for drivers and stu- dents alike. But the report has been absent the past couple of years because Snyder simply didn’t have time to dedicate to the project, and frankly, few, if any, industry organizations expressed much interest. Surely the industry could rally to keep this all-important data flowing,


yes? I decided to make a phone call. In the spring of 2011, I contacted Dr. Daniel Blower, an associate research


scientist at the University of Michigan’s Transportation Research Institute. He heads the Vehicle Safety Analysis Group, which until last month was under contract with the federal government to contribute data to FARS on, specifi- cally, crashes involving commercial trucks and buses. I relayed the state of the school bus data, and Blower immediately expressed interest in helping to try and salvage it. Fast-forward to this past summer, when we received a press release


from NHTSA on its “School Transportation-Related Crashes” data for 2001 through 2010. I called Blower again, and he informed me that his group’s federal contract was due to expire this fall. He again shared with me his interest in forming a partnership. But what exactly would that consist of? We both agreed that if the student transportation industry still truly


valued this data, stakeholders would need to step up to the plate. Ask yourself, how can this data continue to assist the industry in identifying training opportunities? And in this era of renewed public outreach efforts by the American School Bus Council, wouldn’t scientific data from a re- spected, third-party research organization lend even more credibility to school bus safety? How many children can we all help save, especially in light of nearly a


half-dozen child fatalities (at this writing) already this school year? I’d love to hear from you. Send your thoughts to ryan@stnonline.com. ■


By Ryan Gray ryan@stnonline.com


School Transportation News Magazine is published by: STN


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10 School Transportation News Magazine November 2012


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