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Missing students on board or at bus stops around the so-called “Danger Zone” can have tragic consequences for entire communities. Training dictates that driver attention to detail must not wander at the conclusion of routes.
hecking for students after a bus ride is an issue that once again garnered national
scrutiny in September after the death of Hun Joon “Paul” Lee, a 19-year-old autistic student in Whittier, California.
Lee died after being left behind on a school bus at the end of its route. He remained inside that bus for nine hours during a heat wave, until his body was discovered. As a result of this tragedy, many transportation operations, in- cluding the Pupil Transportation Cooperative, which operated the bus Lee rode, have re-evaluated and reformed their policies and procedures for driver post-trip inspections for students. Debbie LaJoie, director of the
Pupil Transportation Cooperative, told STN that, at this writing, the company was requesting proposals from providers of child remind- er technology solutions. Along with technological additions, the operation also implemented a
multi-step “double child safety check” procedure. Te first step involves a staff member documenting all the bus- es left in the yard each morning. When buses return from routes, employees are waiting to docu- ment the bus numbers. One em- ployee walks the bus from front to back, while another opens the emergency exits and checks under all seats. Afterward, each staffer signs a form confirming that they checked the entire bus. Te student transportation in-
dustry has many options available in the form of products that can help prevent incidents of children left behind on the school bus. Child Check-Mate, perhaps one of the most well-known systems, reminds drivers to look for lin- gering or sleeping children after a route by sounding an alarm. Te alarm must be deactivated at the rear of the bus. As drivers walk down the aisle, they are supposed to check under and around each seat to ensure there are no
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