on distracted driving at this summer’s STN EXPO in Reno, Nev. Despite the safety training and defensive driving techniques
drilled into their heads from day one on, school bus drivers remain human and fallible. Tey can be subject to momentary lapses in judgement such as answering a quick text from a friend or tak- ing an inopportune sip of soda. While the majority of school bus drivers are extremely safe, the tiniest distraction can have deadly results no matter from where or whom it comes. And children both on the bus and off it are vulnerable. “You see people driving to school or
driving to work and they’re doing their hair, doing their makeup, you name it. While the bus driver does a great job getting the kids from Point A to Point B,
sometimes, after a student is dropped off, what happens is the unthinkable, and that’s when one of these distracted drivers runs down a pedestrian,” said Jeffrey J. Kroll, a personal injury attor- ney and blogger in Chicago. He wrote in March about a recent Hagerty Classic Insurance
study that rated the 10 worst foods or beverages to consume while behind the wheel, with coffee ranking No. 1. Undoubtedly, coffee is a morning ritual for most school bus drivers. Te driver com- partment in many late-model school buses often come equipped with bever- age holders for such a purpose, much like any passenger vehicle on the market. In the hundreds of cases Kroll has worked on, he said distract-
ed driving was likely the leading cause of each. But there is no data to support this assumption, a fact that he said exacerbates this national, even global, problem. “One of the things about distracted driving that I don’t think
we have an accurate handle on is that people aren’t very candid with a police officer as to what they were doing at the time of a collision. If they were texting, if they were on the phone, if they were distracted, they are not going to admit responsibility,” he said. “We’re not really getting an accurate estimate as to what’s going on out there. You’re almost using by inference that they were distracted or not paying attention if there was any rear-end collision or if they drifted across the center line.” n
INSTRUCTOR CERTIFICATION SCHOOL BUS DRIVER &
Make a Real Difference in
Driver Safety Because Repeatability Matters!
• Computerized cutting provides repeatability for the best fit and finish in the industry. • Large distribution network. • Passenger securement systems.
Old style basic defensive driving courses don’t cut it! Your drivers already know “how” to drive safely. So why do they still take chances?
The key is to change Driver Attitude.
If you want to make a real difference in reducing risks and improving service, then get Thinking Driver for leading-edge, attitude- focused refresher and supplemental training — in the classroom and in the bus.
800.543.8222
www.besi-inc.com 32 School Transportation News Magazine May 2010 BESI StayinSeat3rdPG
Ad2010.indd1 1 3/3/10 4:20:39 PM
“it’s all about attitude”
TOLL FREE: 1.877.250.5601
www.thinkingdriver.com
LOCATIONS IN USA AND CANADA
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68