Peggy Whitacre of Kanawha County Schools in Elkview,
W.Va., purchased GPS, two-way radios, stop-arm camera systems and onboard video cameras for her 200 buses to give drivers more data — and more control. She stressed the need for “more training on student behavior to help the drivers manage their (passengers) better, which will make their jobs easier.”
Driver Training: Digging Deeper Transportation Director James Wright of the Horry
County (S.C.) School District has found a unique way to make sure that students listen up on the bus. Te district is the first in the nation to use theme-park technology to broadcast safety messages and maintain discipline onboard school buses. For the pilot program, the digital audio machines were installed on those buses with riders that have the most discipline referrals. “Announcements tell passengers when they’re approach-
ing railroad tracks and when their stops are coming up. We can alert the driver to make sure the youngest kids have someone to pick them up. It’s a major benefit from a safety standpoint,” noted Wright. “And now (technology provider) Alcorn McBride is working on time-stamping the informa- tion for morning and afternoon shifts.” If all goes well, usage would be expanded across the entire
transportation fleet and incorporate programming in other languages as well as Wi-Fi capabilities that enable messages to change during an emergency. Te system can also give
point-by-point directions to substitute drivers unfamiliar with a route. Additionally, the audio machine works with the onboard GPS so messages are delivered at the right time and location. “I told Alcorn McBride what I wanted to do,” recalled
Wright. “Tey hadn’t done anything like that before, but they thought they could make it work. If I can eliminate some of the communication drivers have to yell [to stu- dents], it will allow them to focus on the road.” Transportation managers reported in our survey that they
rely on regular training sessions to relay important messag- es to staff about vehicle safety and maintenance, student management, emergency preparedness and the proper use of new technology or equipment. When asked which type of training they recently implemented, 59 percent of super- visors cited safety training; 50 percent, emergency/disaster drills and evacuations; and 44 percent, violence prevention. Forty-one percent of respondents added anti-terrorism
and active shooter drills in the wake of shocking tragedies like the Boston Marathon bombing, which killed two chil- dren, and the Newtown, Conn., elementary school shooting that killed 20 students. Also jarring to the industry was the Alabama school bus confrontation that left a heroic bus driver dead after the gunman absconded with a kindergart- ener and held him for six days before the FBI rescued him. Mark Swackhamer of the Houston Independent School
District (ISD) had silent alarms installed on his buses for drivers to use during an emergency such as a hijacking. Te so-called panic buttons are used to alert the authori- ties similar to a 911 call. He replied that these alarms have helped to increase student safety, as have onboard cameras, whose coverage he expanded by placing seven on each of his 500-plus buses. Swackhamer has also brought driver training into the 21st century by utilizing computers, tablets and smart- phones along with the more traditional overhead/Power- Point presentations, training DVDs and handouts. He also put bus drivers out into the field for hands-on training. “Tis year we trained with the Houston Fire Department
with all of our drivers. Tey attended hands-on classes on firefighting, accident recovery, railroad accidents and terrorist prevention training,” he stated, noting that GPS has helped drivers’ on-time performance and reduced the number of road calls. In addition, Swackhamer is one of the 32 percent of fleet
managers who are operating alternative-fuel school buses, with Houston now boasting 910 biofuel buses and 91 pow- ered by propane autogas. Meanwhile, Anthony Quaranta of Owego Apalachin CSD in New York responded that he has implemented vio- lence prevention and security/anti-terrorism/active shooter training into his existing program. Dan Swearingen of Lapwai School District 341 in Idaho
£ James Wright, director of transportation at Horry County Schools in South Carolina, turned to a theme-park vendor to implement a digital audio machine on the school bus to help manage both driver and student behavior with automated safety messages.
54 School Transportation News October 2013
considers training key to raising safety awareness among his dozen drivers. He said his three goals are safety, driver awareness and “keeping drivers from cell phone use” while behind the wheel. For Semple, who is in Illinois, comprehensive staff train- ing is an essential tool for instilling good driving habits that affect vehicle maintenance, driver retention, road safety and thus student safety.
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