INDUSTRY CONNECTIONS
CRASH SIMULATION EXERCISE SHEDS LIGHT ON BUS DRIVERS’ ROLE
A recent mock school-bus crash helped contractor Illinois
Central School Bus address concerns related to accidents in which bus drivers are unable to report the incident. Te Jan. 9 drill held in Batavia, Ill., simulated a collision between a school bus carrying students from Rotolo Middle School and another vehicle. Illinois Central collaborated with Batavia Public Schools and the Batavia fire and police de- partments. Four of the student victims were members of the middle school’s eighth-grade first-aid class, and the school bus driver acted like an unconscious victim. “(Te) big lesson learned was what happens when the
driver cannot report the accident. We have reinforced with our bus evacuation team that the older students need to be instructed on what to do if the driver is not responsive, such as utilizing the bus radio, their cell phones to call 911, etc.,” said Dawn O’Connell, Illinois Central’s contract manager for the area. “Also, we will utilize those drivers that do stage out during the day as response vehicles when routes are not running during (morning and afternoon routes).” She explained that if a crash occurs during midday, the buses
closest to district schools respond versus waiting the 20 minutes for a bus to come from base.
Minnesota Report: Benefits of
School, Transit Collaboration As more transportation officials seek innovative efficiencies, the 2012 Minnesota Legislature commissioned a research study of regional or co- ordinated approaches to enhance cost savings and efficiencies in student transportation statewide. Te report was released in January. When the Department of Administration hired the independent
research firm Improve Group, officials asked for a focus on efficiencies that arose, specifically, from either collaboration between school districts or from the use of transit to supplement or replace existing student transportation. Many school districts and charter schools were found to be already collaborating on some level, with 81 percent of traditional districts reporting the practice. Collaboration was most common for students with special needs who require specialized transportation. Researchers surveyed transportation officials at school districts, bus
companies, the Minnesota Department of Education, the Department of Transportation and the Department of Public Safety. Te study found that challenges vary by geography, with metro-area districts grappling with transporting homeless students across boundaries and rural districts dealing with large distances, long ride times and low student densities. Also, the latter category is more likely to offer open enrollment and transport students across boundaries, which reduces efficiencies, accord- ing to the report. Transit, taxis and dial-a-ride services, while increasing flexibility, do not necessarily reduce costs, the study concluded.
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44 School Transportation News March 2013
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