Final Word? A
WRITTEN BY ART GISSENDANER
mid the echoes from three school bus crashes that have raised new questions about driver training and behavior, and refueled old arguments on safety
equipment, the feds recently announced two Final Rules and issued a strong recommendation meant to prevent the recurrence of two tragedies in November that took the lives of 12 people in all, as well as a 2014 incident that injured 11 students, four seriously. Two of the crashes were traced to unreported medical conditions of the bus drivers. Te third killed six students in Chattanooga, Tennessee. And while still under investigation by the NTSB, the cause of this crash will likely be attributed to the unexplained, undisciplined misconduct of the driver,
28 School Transportation News • JANUARY 2017
according to preliminary reports. A final report, which will be heavily influence by both video taken from the bus and the engine control unit, is likely a year and a half away. Te cumulative intent of the new final rules is to sharpen the lens of the microscope under which all potential and current school bus drivers must pass to provide a clearer image of their backgrounds, health histories and skill levels before they are cleared to transport students. Meanwhile, the cumulative impact of the more stringent rules on an industry that is experiencing a shortage of qualified personnel, might be to exacer- bate the problem. “My gut feeling is it will not be any help in recruit-
Jan17_STN.indb 28
New federal rules attempt to raise safety standards for school bus drivers amid high-profile crashes but can do little to predict future behavior
Fire department and rescue officials at the scene of an early morning fatal collision between a school bus and a commuter bus on Nov. 1, 2016, in Baltimore. The school bus driver, who was not allowed to operate a commercial vehicle, died with commuter bus driver and four passengers. (Jeffrey F. Bill/Baltimore Sun via AP)
CELEBRATING 25 YEARS
12/20/16 4:50 PM
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
