ing new drivers,” said Alfred Karam, transportation director for Shenendehowa Central Schools in Clifton Park, New York. Karam added that while the new rules may make it more difficult to recruit driv- ers, he is not willing to sacrifice quality for quantity. “Just like everybody else, we are short on drivers, but I do not let the shortage dictate who I hire,” he said. “I’d rather deal with the shortage than with a driver that should never be behind the wheel of a school bus.” According to Tennessee State Director of Trans-
portation Lt. Ray Robinson, his state is no different from any other. “Tere is a shortage of drivers across the nation,” said Robinson, a state trooper. “I would be shocked if there are any transportation people across the nation that can say they’ve got more driv- ers than they know what to do with.”
REALITY BITES Te backlash from November’s fatal crashes involv- ing contract carriers in Chattanooga, as well as Bal- timore, has created a feeding frenzy of criticism with everybody vying for a seat at the table. One newspa- per headline asked parents, “Is your kid’s school bus driver safe?” An investigative report by NBC found thousands of traffic violations by hundreds of drivers in New York City and Miami that went unpunished, with the guilty parties still driving buses. Tat same investigation revealed nearly 500 traffic tickets by a local government service provider in Dallas that went unaddressed until the findings of the investigation were made public. Tat’s when it was reported that the carrier, Dallas County Schools, fired 13 drivers and suspended another 229. Further, a scathing
editorial in USA Today essentially took everyone asso- ciated with student transportation to task, saying the “system for regulating drivers and buses is splintered, making it easier for problems to be missed.” Peter Mannella, executive director of the New
York Association for Pupil Transportation, would not comment on the federal rules until he had studied them. However, he did say there is no excuse for school bus drivers ignoring the law. “School bus drivers should not be violating any traffic laws, we have no tolerance for that,” Mannella said. “Bus drivers are held to the highest expectations.” Officials in the Dallas Independent School Dis- trict, a major client of Dallas County Schools, open- ly criticized the operator’s commitment to safety in a public meeting, with DISD Trustee Dustin Marshall declaring that the vendor had put safety aside and “doesn’t look to protect our children.” “Tis is a clear issue where safety is in a downhill
spiral,” Marshall said. “Safety, reliability and service is poor and cost is rising. Tere are very clear alterna- tives on this one.” Te contract between DISD and DCS is up for
renewal next month. Besides the need for more stringent requirements,
the recent crashes have rendered school districts and private school bus companies tight-lipped while they review and reaffirm their transportation policies, training and contractual obligations. Baltimore City Public Schools terminated its contract with school bus contractor AAAffordable LLC after one of the company’s drivers crashed his school bus into a car and a transit bus, killing himself and five other people on Nov. 1. No students
A school bus is carried away on Nov. 22,
2016, in Chattanooga, Tenn. The bus
driver, Johnthony Walker, 24, was
arrested on charges including vehicular homicide, reckless driving and reckless endangerment.
The crash killed six elementary school
students and seriously injured a dozen more. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)
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