director of transportation for Lincoln County School District #2 in Wyoming. He said that he planned to start a conversation with state department of education representatives on including the technology in Wyoming’s strict school bus specifications. College Station Independent School District in Texas uses bonds
to replace buses and has a replacement cycle of 20-25 new buses every three years. Caleb Williams, the assistant director of trans- portation, said he is in favor of purchasing buses with ESC and collision avoidance systems, as long as their added costs don’t result in fewer bus purchases. He added that they could also help with concerns related to the driver demographic in the district. “We are a college town, and so we do have a lot of college students who drive really fast, really aggressively,” he explained. “Anything that we can do to help our drivers out and keep our kids safer is something we will certainly look at and try to get.” Manassas City Public Schools in Virginia will have collision
avoidance technology on 15 percent of its fleet by the end of this summer. Transportation Director Joe Yankoviak said the feature has helped alert drivers who are distracted with bus controls and even curb some unsafe driving habits. “It’s also very beneficial, because some drivers follow closer to
the vehicle in front of them than they should, and you can tell them [not to] till you’re blue in the face. But if they’re annoyed by this device, it kind of forces them to back off,” he explained. “I’d
What Do the Three N’s Say? Industry associations for the most part strongly sup-
ported the NTSB’s recommendations on states and NHTSA mandating lap-shoulder belts, ESC and collision avoidance. While the National Association of School Transportation
said it still supports the seat belt decision being left up to individual states, the National Association for Pupil Trans- portation urged the NTSB to recommend to NHTSA that it “reevaluate compartmentalization” and move toward federally mandating lap-shoulder belts. NAPT also said it encouraged consideration of collision avoidance systems among its members and “specifically” supported NHTSA mandating ESC on all school buses. The National Association of State Directors of Pupil
Transportation Services pointed members to previously published position papers, including one in 2014 that recommended lap-shoulder seat belts be adopted by all school districts, where feasible. A statement provided to School Transportation News and available to read in full at
stnonline.com/go/bt contains the official NASDPTS response to all three safety features recommended by the NSTB.
Move to Zero
The Cummins Westport B6.7N features next generation natural gas engine technology and a 50% reduction in NOx emissions compared to current EPA standards. Rated up to 240 hp with 560 lb-ft torque and maintenance-free aftertreatment, it offers reliability, durability, and low emissions.
The B6.7N is available today for your school bus fl eet.
Learn more:
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www.stnonline.com 19
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