INDUSTRY CONNECTIONS In Brief
the company’s decision earlier this year to discontin- ue its FE Series school bus: “Since the production launch of our current CE
Series model in 2004, our conventional model has proven immensely popular. Our IC Bus dealers have transitioned many customers who had traditionally purchased forward control units to the CE Series. Giv- en these changes in market dynamics and the current economic conditions, IC Bus has made the difficult decision to suspend production of the FE Series. We continue to monitor the market and talk to our cus- tomers. As our product plans evolve, we will look at opportunities to re-enter the forward control market at the right time with a best-in-class FE Series.”
Tornadoes and thunderstorms ripped through Ohio and Michigan in early June, destroying Lake High School (Ohio) schools buses and facilities, and taking the life of the valedictorian’s father the day before graduation.
OHIO SUFFERS FIRST ONBOARD FATALITY IN 40 YEARS At this writing, an investigation was just beginning into what was being
described as a single-vehicle crash of a school bus that resulted in the death of a 6-year-old boy and injuries to six other students. Almost immediately after, the Ohio House of Representatives responded by introducing legisla- tion that, if approved by the Senate, would require three-point, lap/shoulder restraints on all school buses by 2014. Pete Japikse, the associate director of ODE’s pupil transportation office,
traveled with a staff lieutenant from the Ohio Department of Public Safety to visit the crash site on state Route 60 in Muskingum County and to meet with investigators. Te death of Kasey King was the first on-board school bus fatality in Ohio in at least 40 years. Initial reports said the driver, Carol Oler, may have lost consciousness or that an oncoming car had crossed the median before the crash. Oler says that another car went over the center lane and she swerved to avoid a collision, but as of this writing, that was not confirmed. Te school bus left the roadway and struck and broke a utility pole before rolling over onto its roof and landing in a ditch. Further information was not available at press time.
GEORGIA CONSIDERS SECLUSION BAN Te Georgia Board of Education, as of this writing, was considering banning
solitary confinement in schools and limiting the use of restraint to calm mis- behaving students. Seclusion is already banned at many schools, but the new policy would prohibit it at all schools. It would also limit the use of restraints and ask schools to collect data on the practice. In 2004, a 13-year-old Gaines- ville boy hanged himself in a seclusion room where he’d been locked up for numerous hours. If the policy is approved, Georgia will no longer be one of the 20 states that currently do not regulate seclusion and restraint in schools.
IC BUS NO LONGER SELLING FE SERIES Navistar and IC Bus spokeswoman Dena Leuchter released the following statement on how the economy and the current school bus market led to
14 School Transportation News Magazine July 2010
PARENTS WANT RESTITUTION FOR DAUGHTER’S DEATH Tiffany DiCicco-Ross, an 11-year-old student,
had just gotten on the bus at Phoenix Multicultural Academy in Detroit when she stuck her head out the window to talk to friends. When the bus backed up in after-school traffic, she hit her head on a tree and died a short time later. Parents are angry and say that at least 10 of them had visited the public works office in the previous month to request signage to assist with school traffic, which they felt could have prevented this accident. However, many who commented on the article that was posted on the Detroit Free Press Web site voiced concerns that people always look for somewhere to place blame, and that this should just be considered a tragic accident.
ASBC RESPONDS TO DOT STRATEGIC PLAN After spending countless hours and manpower
putting together a congressional letter to address the needs of the school bus industry and the ne- cessity for federal funding, the American School Bus Council recently learned that at no point was the yellow bus mentioned in the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Strategic Plan. “We are distressed that the nation’s largest public
transportation fleet, dwarfing all others combined, does not even warrant a mention in the proposed five-year strategic plan,” wrote the ASBC in a letter to Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. Following the Council’s awareness campaign, which
led to 49 congressman and seven senators signing an ASBC-drafted letter to LaHood, the association felt a response was necessary and appropriate, according to NASDPTS Executive Director Bob Riley. “ASBC believes the DOT Strategic Plan should in- clude the concept of encouraging the availability of
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