their waiting school bus. The sib- lings all died at the scene, while the other boy needed 20 surgeries to repair multiple broken bones. “The car came over a hill and
killed three kids. They were brothers and a sister, and it basi- cally wiped out the family. If they would have had that predictive stop arm, I think they would have had a chance,” Downin said. Downin also actively educates
students on the risks of loading and unloading the school bus, enlisting the help of Buster the School Bus, a fully animated and remote-controlled robot from Robotronics that teaches younger students about safe loading and unloading. Downin said he is will- ing to try just about anything once. “If it keeps the kids safe and doesn’t put any burden on the driver, then I’m interested,” he said.
Making Sense of Pedestrian Safety The other half of fatalities at school bus stops each year occur when the students are struck by their own bus. FMVSS 111 mandates training for school bus drivers on proper mirror adjustment. But still, deaths and injuries occur. In addition to the need for student transportation leaders to repeatedly train their staff on proper mirror usage, as well as how drives should “rock and roll” in their seats to ensure they account for all students be- fore pulling away from the stop, technology also exists to address driver blind spots around the bus. Denny Coughlin, a retired fleet manager for Minneapolis Pub- lic Schools and owner of School Bus Training Company, recalled
HIGH PRIDE OF
OWNERSHIP STARTS WITH LOW COST OF OWNERSHIP.
the contributions of another Minnesota-based transportation manager, Bill Stanley, who pioneered danger zone awareness in 1990.
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