School
Bus
Information Council
Home
School Bus Facts
Key National Statistics
School Bus-Related
Child Fatalities
School Bus-Related
Fatalities
Key Safety
Equipment Required
on School Buses
School Bus Experts
Press Releases/Industry News
School Bus-
Information Reports
Press Releases/Industry News
|
Tennesee School Bus Driver Shooting Tragedy(PDF) SBIC News Flash on IMMI Marketing Campaign SBIC Letter to NHTSA - NPRN On Anton's Law SBIC
Statement On NHTSA Advisory Regarding Carpenter School Buses CARPENTER
SCHOOL BUS UPDATE: Carpenter School Bus Problem More Widespread Than Originally Thought School
Bus Information Council (SBIC) Issues New
Federal Study Says Kids Are At Greatest Risk SBIC Issues Statement About Use of 15-Passenger Vans "Big Yellow" is Proud to Be Green Activists' Diesel-Fuel Report Smoky, Says Public Health Group One Stop Source for School Bus Information Established "Back-to-School"
Means Much Greater Safety Risks SAFETY
OFFICIALS WARN:
Carpenter School Bus Problem More Widespread Than Originally Thought Since sending out a notice on April 14, 2003 about a potential for cracked or broken welds in the roof structure of Carpenter Type "C" and "D" school buses built at its Mitchell, Indiana, plant between 1986 and 1995, more important facts have developed. Accordingly, the following additional information is provided: 1. Inspection of Carpenter school buses in various parts of the country has revealed cracked and broken welds in the roof structure. The problem is clearly not confined to Florida where it was first found. 2. Inspection of some Type "B" Carpenter school buses has revealed cracked and broken welds in the roof structure. 3. ALL Carpenter school buses built at the manufacturing facility in Mitchell, IN used the same roof design. 4. Each Carpenter school bus includes a 6-digit body number that appears on the Carpenter body data plate. If that 6-digit body number starts with the number 4, then the bus was built in the Richmond, Indiana, plant and utilizes full-length body bows. This design does NOT need to be inspected. 5. Based on the above information, the School Bus Information Council believes it would be prudent for states and local school districts to inspect the welds in the roof structure of all Carpenter school buses (Type "A," "B," "C," and "D") that were manufactured in Mitchell, IN, from 1986 to approximately late 1995. 6. If the 6-digit body number that appears on the Carpenter body
data plate starts with any number other than the number 4, then the
bus was manufactured in Mitchell, IN, and should be included in the
inspection. School
Bus Information Council (SBIC)
Issues
The buses involved are Carpenter Type C and D models manufactured between 1986 and late 1995 at the company s Mitchell, Indiana plant. The welds in question are located at the junction of the vertical side posts (between the windows) and the horizontal structural member (the Carlin rail) above the windows (see attached photographs). The Florida crash involved a 1991 Type D Carpenter
school bus that rolled over, causing the roof to collapse down to
the seat level. Fortunately, there were no children aboard at the
time of the crash. Subsequent inspection of the bus discovered failure
of a large percentage of structural welds in the roof structure. Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 220, School Bus Rollover Protection, requires these vehicles to have roof strength capable of supporting 1 ½ times the weight of the bus. The nature of the Florida crash, and discovery of failed welds, suggests that the bus would not have complied with the federal safety standard. The obvious implication for all states is that they may be unknowingly operating buses that are not in compliance. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is investigating the crash and discovery of failed welds in other Carpenter buses. Normally if a safety defect is determined the manufacturer is required to conduct a recall to remedy the situation at no cost to the owner. But Carpenter Manufacturing is no longer in business. Therefore, there are no options for states other than removing any affected buses from service and replacing them.
As evidenced by this national advisory, the school bus industry takes safety very seriously. When a problem with a school bus is suspected, even before federal intervention or prompting, we take the safest course of action without regard to costs or other considerations. SBIC has requested that school transportation service providers notify us as soon as possible if the results of local investigations reveal any defects so that we can understand the extent of the problem and communicate the facts to federal investigators, the news media and the public.   
New
Federal Study Says Kids Are At Greatest Risk A long-awaited and much-anticipated report on school transportation safety, was released to the public on June 18, 2002 at 4:00 p.m. EDT. The report, entitled "The Relative Risks of School Travel: A National Perspective and Guidance for Local Community Risk Assessment", was released by the Transportation Research Board (TRB) of the National Academies for Science (NAS) which says, in summary, that children are at far more risk traveling to and from school in private passenger vehicles - especially if a teen-age driver is involved - than in school buses. The report also indicates that bicycling and walking also place students at greater risk than traveling by school bus. The report considered six transportation modes. In assessing buses, the committee looked at school buses as well as public transit buses and motorcoach services. Passenger vehicles were divided into two categories: those driven by individuals 19 or older and those driven by operators under 19 years of age, mostly students. Data on pedestrians and bicyclists traveling to and from school also were examined. The report shows that every year, about 800 school-age children are killed in motor vehicle crashes during normal school travel hours (weekday mornings and afternoons during school months) accounting for about 14 percent of the 5,600 child deaths that occur on the nation's roadways. Of these 800 deaths, only about 2 percent are school-bus related, while 74 percent occur in private passenger vehicles and 22 percent are the result of pedestrian or bicycle accidents. More than half of all deaths of children between age 5 and 18 occur during normal school travel hours when a teen-ager is driving. The dramatic difference in risk across transportation modes at the national level suggests that more can be done to manage and reduce those dangers, the committee said. School districts should facilitate travel by safer modes while working to improve others that are less safe. For example, walking and bicycling could be made safer by improving sidewalks and protection at street crossings as well as building more bike paths. A dialogue among parents, schools, and other relevant organizations also needs to be established, encouraging collaboration to promote safe practices for students using all modes. To help identify the risks of school travel, the committee developed a risk-management framework. This framework should be included among the tools used to make decisions on locations of schools, changes in the amount of student parking provided, or changes in the area serviced by school buses. For example, increasing the distance that students must live from school to qualify for school-bus service may save money but it also shifts children to travel modes that are less safe. Alternatively, providing school-bus service for middle school children attending after-school activities could reduce the risk of injury and fatality significantly. These examples, however, are based on national averages and do not reflect the variations that exist on a local or school-district level. More research and evaluation are needed to provide local decision-makers with better guidance on how to reduce school travel risks, the committee said. Data limitations also pose problems. At present, a lack of uniformity in local- and state-level data hinders risk analyses in individual school districts. National data provide helpful insights, but could be improved by using consistent definitions. Before gathering new data, however, the cost-effectiveness of doing so needs to be examined. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration of the U.S. Department of Transportation sponsored the study. The National Research Council is the principal operating arm of the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering. It is a private, nonprofit institution that provides independent advice on science and technology issues under congressional charter. Copies of the report are available for free on the Internet at www.nap.edu Printed copies will soon be available for purchase from the Transportation Research Board; tel. (202) 334-3213, fax (202) 334-2519, or e-mail TRBSales@nas.edu. Click here to review the Executive Summary of the report.
"Big Yellow" is Proud to Be Green Statement by School Bus
Information Council The School Bus Information Council commends International for its impressive green diesel technology that has earned the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) 2007 Diesel Engine Certificate-a full six years early. Just as we have led in transportation safety, the school bus industry intends to be an environmental leader as well. We are pleased that 600 new green diesel school buses have been ordered already in California, and expect that more will follow as school districts across the country learn about this technology and replace existing buses. The SBIC intends to encourage the move to cleaner engine technologies. Importantly for school districts that must reconcile environmental improvements to their fleets with the reality of tight pupil transportation budgets, green diesel offers them a "win-win" alternative - cost-effective performance with environmentally friendly results. It's another viable option for an industry that is constantly looking to find ways to utilize alternative fuels. All parts of the school bus industry-manufacturers, suppliers, and the school districts that operate the nation's 440,000 school buses-leave no stone unturned to ensure that the 24 million children who are transported to and from school each day are a safe as humanly possible. In fact, regardless of what power source is under the hood, the school bus remains the safest way for children to travel to and from school. We are proud of our safety record that is unequalled in motor vehicle transportation, and pleased to be working with International and other parts of our industry to also do our part to improve air quality.
Activists'
Diesel-Fuel Report Smoky, New York, NY-Contrary to the claims of the activist group Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), there is no scientific validity to fears that diesel exhaust emissions from school buses pose a cancer risk to schoolchildren. This was the conclusion reached by scientists affiliated with the American Council on Science and Health (ACSH), which today released a peer-reviewed analysis entitled School Buses and Diesel Fuel. The ACSH report criticized a recently promoted report on diesel exhaust, authored by the NRDC. The NRDC report, No Breathing in the Aisles, is replete with invalid and unsupported assertions, according to the ACSH document. NRDC's allegations, the ACSH report states, are based on uncontrolled observations and unjustified extrapolations. The ACSH report was authored by renowned toxicologist Daland R. Juberg, Ph.D., DABT, and reviewed by 12 independent colleagues in academia and consultative toxicology, in addition to the ACSH professional staff. The ACSH review of the NRDC report includes these conclusions: The NRDC monitoring study, which forms the basis of the report and from which the NRDC derived its risk estimates for children, is not described in sufficient detail to allow for an informed critique of its validity. Thus, the conclusions regarding cancer risk to children from diesel exhaust (DE) exposure cannot be confirmed. The estimated DE exposures for children riding a diesel-fueled school bus have not been confirmed through other independent studies. Quantitative human exposure data are scanty for DE, particularly for non-occupational settings; thus comparisons to the NRDC findings are not possible. DE has been associated with a small increase in lung cancer risk in some epidemiological studies involving occupational exposures. Typically, occupational DE exposures are far greater than ambient exposures to which children would likely be exposed. We know of no published studies that link non-occupational exposure to DE with increased cancer risk. The estimated cancer risk for children calculated by the NRDC uses a unit risk factor that has not received general acceptance by the scientific community and is not recognized by the U.S. EPA. There are no published studies that link childhood exposure to DE, either from buses or any other exposure, with an increased risk of developing cancer. Gilbert Ross M.D., ACSH's medical director and project coordinator for School Buses and Diesel Fuel, commented, "This peer-reviewed critique of the NRDC's attack on diesel fuel shows the difference between hype and sound science. Their report is riddled with fallacy and half-truths, which have no place in scientific discourse." He continued: "The NRDC is an activist group, not a scientific organization, and its 'science' is never subject to criticism by independent review. They were the main proponents of the infamous 1989 Alar hoax, and their report on the health risks of diesel exhaust falls into the same category." The American Council on Science and Health is a public health, consumer-education consortium of over 350 scientists and physicians, experts who serve on ACSH's scientific advisory panel. ACSH publishes reports on issues pertaining to the environment, nutrition, pharmaceuticals, and tobacco and helps the public deal with real health risks productively.
Statement by School Bus Information Council in response to charges about diesel fumes inside school buses in California The charge by certain environmental groups that diesel fumes cause increased cancer risk to children riding in school buses cries out for perspective so parents and children alike will not be needlessly alarmed. The Los Angeles Times responsibly reported that the charge is based on a "study" that has "...some notable limitations." Namely, these sensational allegations are based on anecdotal evidence from just four older buses in Los Angeles, California, a city with the dubious distinction historically of being one of the smoggiest in the nation. The Times also pointed out that "Health experts say other pollution sources, such as second hand tobacco smoke, pose a greater hazard to children...". The story also mentioned that any theoretical increase in the cancer risk to children "is still small, however, compared to the one-in-five chance of contracting cancer that everyone in the United States faces". What the Times does not say is that the buses used in this "study" appear to have been manufactured before the implementation of diesel engine emissions requirements in 1988, and that the school bus industry has taken the lead on diesel engine technology improvements. International, one of the leading diesel engine manufacturers in the world, has developed a Green Diesel engine that uses ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel. The particulate emissions from this engine are as low or lower than other alternative fuels, such as CNG. All parts of the school bus industry-bus manufacturers, suppliers, and the school districts that operate the nation's 440,000 school buses-leave no stone unturned to ensure that the 23.5 million children who are transported to and from school each day are as safe as humanly possible. In fact, school buses are a great American success story, with a safety record that is unequaled in motor vehicle transportation. It would be unfortunate if any parent in California or elsewhere removes a child from a school bus in reaction to this story - especially since there is a very real and far greater risk to children in California and the nation. Some 600 children are killed every year because they opt not to ride a school bus and use some other form of transportation. In fact, it is far more dangerous, going to and from school, for a student to drive or ride with a parent or friend than it is to ride a school bus. People who are truly concerned about student safety should work to ensure that more than 16 percent of the children in California - the lowest percentage in the nation - ride the bus to school and from school. Unfortunately, school buses appear to be caught in the middle of a bigger political battle in California. As the Times also pointed out, "...environmental groups have mounted a major campaign to reduce the use of diesel engines in California." Sadly, it is a typical publicity technique to heighten public concern for your agenda by sensationalizing the alleged adverse affects on children. Frightening parents and children about the safety of school bus transportation is an unfair way for the environmental advocates to promote their agenda and stoke the fires of debate about air quality in California. For more information, feel
free to visit www.napt.org/dispatch.htm
to view a February 13, 2001 press release from International
Truck & Engine Corporation and a February 28, 2001
The School Bus Information Council (SBIC), a new one stop resource for reporters and others seeking information on school bus issues was announced today by The National Association for Pupil Transportation (NAPT) and National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation Services (NASDPTS). The SBIC will provide up-to-date statistics and other information about all aspects of pupil transportation. According to Don Carnahan, President of NAPT, “The goal is to help reporters ‘get up to speed’ quickly when they are researching school bus issues.” “Key statistical information by state, and names and phone numbers of authoritative sources also will be provided,” he added. “School buses are a great American success story with a safety record that is unmatched in motor vehicle transportation,” said Terry Voy, President of NASDPTS. “Yet, because of the important passengers they carry, even minor school bus crashes usually make the news. We want to provide reporters with facts that will help them cover these stories more effectively,” he continued. Carnahan said the SBIC encourages reporters to look beyond the immediate news value of an incident involving children and consider the circumstances carefully. For example, was the bus at fault, or was it struck at high speed by a drunk driver? Was a child struck getting off the bus because a motorist failed to obey the law and stop for the bus? Were even more casualties avoided because the bus structure provided excellent overall crash protection even under severe circumstances? The organization offers a toll-free phone number (1-888-FOR-SBIC) and a web site (www.schoolbusinfo.org) to expedite information requests.
"Back-to-School" Means Much Greater Safety
Risks Albany, NY – Recent incidents in some of the nation's schools have appropriately focused attention on new ways to improve school safety for America's children. Often overlooked in the discussion, however, is the safety of children as they travel to and from school. A deadly, yet little noticed trend is increasing as more and more children stop riding school buses, and instead choose more dangerous alternatives such as private autos, bicycles or even walking, according to the School Bus Information Council. "As children across America are headed back-to-school, parents need to ask themselves, ‘is my child getting to school in the safest manner possible?' If their children aren't riding school buses, the answer is clearly, no," said Mike Martin, a spokesperson for the School Bus Information Council. He added, "The number of students who ride the bus to school has dropped off in recent years. In fact, nationwide, barely over half of students ride school buses. The rest are using less-safe means of transportation. It is up to parents, school boards, legislators and the students themselves to promote safety in all circumstances, and the best place to start is on the bus." A recent survey conducted by the research firm Wirthlin Worldwide, found that about one-third of respondents believed that driving their children themselves was the safest way for children to get to and from school – but statistics prove otherwise. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), between 1987 and 1997, the number of school-aged children killed in passenger cars on a weekday during school hours compared to children killed while riding a school bus during the same hours was 80 to 1*. Almost half of those surveyed believed that alternate means of getting to and from school, whether is was walking, riding a bike, a student driving a student or an adult driving a student, were safer then riding a school bus. "The cruel irony here," said Dr. Dee Alsop, Senior Researcher for Wirthlin Worldwide, "is that those parents who thought they were doing the most to ensure their children's transportation safety were actually putting their children at greater risk." A modern school bus (those manufactured after April 1, 1977) must meet more Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards than any other vehicle on the road. The size of the school bus alone gives it an important advantage in all but the most catastrophic circumstances, since larger, heavier vehicles provide excellent protection to their occupants. In addition to school bus design and equipment considerations, school bus transportation requires numerous other measures to help to ensure the safety of children who ride a school bus. For example, school bus drivers must hold a special license, called a Commercial Driver's License (CDL), that is required by the Federal Highway Administration. NHTSA has also developed driver training for both new and experienced drivers, as well as maintaining the School Bus Driver Instructional Program which provides pupil transportation managers with educational materials to teach core skills to school bus drivers. When survey respondents were told that school buses were indeed the safest form of transportation for children traveling to and from school, 35% said school bus transportation had the greatest need of funding over teacher salaries, repairing existing schools, text books, enrichment/cultural activities and building new schools. According to Martin of the School Bus Information Council, "As school budgets continue to shrink, all too often the first thing cut is pupil transportation – and the safety ramifications of such cuts are not fully appreciated. Parents need to be given all of the safety facts when it comes to children's safety – whether its their safety at school or their safety in getting to and from school." *Source: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Fatal Analysis Reporting System (FARS) and "School Bus Safety: Safe Passage for America's Children" CONSUMER ADVISORY: Safety Officials Warn About Pokemon, Beanie Babies and Furby Toys Snagging on School Buses For Immediate Release (December 30, 1999) Washington, DC - State school bus safety officials and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) today warned parents that popular "Pokemon," "Furby," "Beanie Babies" and other small toys that can be attached to backpacks or clothing pose a potential safety hazard to children getting off school buses. Michael Martin of the School Bus Information Council said, "Fortunately there have been no deaths or injuries cause by these toys snagging, so we have an opportunity to forewarn parents and school officials. But since 1991 six children have been killed when clothing, book bags, backpacks or other loose items snagged on a school bus handrail or door component-they were dragged to their deaths or run over when the bus pulled away. At least 22 others have been injured in similar incidents." "These toys are all the rage with youngsters today and it's only natural that they would want to show them off," Martin said. "There is nothing wrong with the toys themselves, but any toy that dangles off backpacks or clothing is every bit as dangerous as loose drawstrings, straps, and other items that have caused deaths and injuries in a number of situations. It's the old adage about an ounce of prevention-parents need to know about the danger and should remove these toys from their child's clothing and backpacks immediately." NHTSA Acting Administrator Rosalyn G. Millman said, "The United States has an outstanding pupil transportation safety record because state and federal officials and the school bus industry constantly work together to minimize risks. We always err on the side of caution, giving parents and caregivers information they need to make their child's trip to and from school as safe as humanly possible." "Over the past decade, the designs of childrens' clothing and other items they carry have changed, causing unnecessary fatalities and injuries when they became entangled. School bus manufacturers initiated recalls to reconfigure handrails and other equipment to prevent problems. But, the most effective way to prevent problems is for parents and caregivers to ensure that children do not wear or carry anything likely to become entangled," she said. NHTSA first expressed concern in 1993 about the entanglement of clothing in school bus handrails and issued several consumer warnings. The safety agency investigated the handrail designs of all major school bus manufacturers and nine subsequently conducted safety recalls to make the handrails in their buses less prone to snagging incidents. The manufacturers took these actions even though the safety problem was with the clothing children were wearing, not the handrail designs that had been in use for many incident-free years. As a result of separate investigations by the Consumer Product Safety Commission of problems with clothing snagging on playground equipment and fences, clothing manufacturers developed industry standards for drawstrings on childrens' clothing. Snagging incidents in school buses have declined, but in 1997 a Maryland girl was dragged after a drawstring snagged, as was a Rhode Island girl in 1998 when her backpack became wedged in the handrail. Fortunately, neither was injured seriously. Millman and Martin urged school bus fleet operators to make sure that the necessary repairs were made to older buses and keep awareness about this problem high by emphasizing it during school bus driver training. "Before pulling away from each stop, drivers should look at the closed exit door carefully and then use their outside mirrors to look again to make sure a child is not still attached to the bus," Martin said. The handrails, also called grab rails, are located inside school buses, sometimes on both sides of the step well. Snagging occurs when something gets wedged between the body of the bus and the lower end of the handrail or in the door itself. School bus manufacturers have designed simple remedies that fill the gap to prevent the likelihood of snagging. According to Martin, the big yellow school bus is one of the safest forms of transportation in the U.S. and fatal incidents involving school buses are rare events. He credits the industry's stellar safety record to its vigilance in alerting parents and school officials to even potential problems; the sheer size of the school bus that gives it an advantage in all but the most severe crashes; extensive federal safety requirements that exceed those for other passenger vehicles; and the skill, special licensing requirements and training of school bus drivers. Each year, about 440,000 public school buses travel 4.3 billion miles, transporting 23.5 million school children. Over the past ten years, an average of nine school-age children died as occupants of school buses, and 22 were killed as pedestrians struck while getting on or off the bus (including those who were killed in snagging incidents).
Safety Officials Warn: Selling Passenger Vans as School Buses Violates Federal Law Washington, DC - States that permit the use of passenger vans instead of traditional school buses are putting children at increased risk, and dealers that sell them violate federal law, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) joined school bus experts in warning today. According to Charles Gauthier of the School Bus Information Council, "The biggest school-related safety risk for children in this country is their choice of transportation to and from school. It's false economy for states to cut corners in pupil transportation by allowing students to ride in 12- and 15-passenger vans." "Yet, 19 states currently allow vans for school transportation, and 27 permit their use to transport students for school-related activities, such as field trips and sporting events. Decisions to use vans appear to be budgetary ones. But from a safety perspective, it's a penny wise and pound foolish policy," Gauthier said. Tragically, there have been crashes involving passenger vans where school children were killed or seriously injured. As the result of National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigations of several such crashes, last December Senators John McCain and Ernest Hollings and National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Chairman Jim Hall signed a letter to the governors of each state asking them to enact state laws prohibiting the use of vans for school transportation. Gauthier said several states already have taken actions to phase out the use of passenger vans, but most have not. In fact, during the past two years, two states revised their laws to allow the use of vans for transporting school children. NHTSA gave another reason for states to rethink their laws allowing passenger vans for student transportation - it's illegal for dealers to sell or lease new vans for this purpose. "Federal law prohibits dealers from selling or leasing a new motor vehicle with a capacity of more than 10 persons for the purpose of transporting students to and from school, or a school-related activity, unless the vehicle meets the rigorous Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards for school buses," Gauthier said. It is difficult to modify a van to meet all the safety requirements, and a full-sized bus has the added and very significant safety advantage of its much larger size. "You can't just paint a van yellow and call it a school bus. Parents need to know that a van offers their children much less protection in a crash," Gauthier cautioned. He noted that manufacturers of passenger vans (DaimlerChrysler, Ford and General Motors) have provided written notification to their dealers reminding them that federal law prohibits sales/leases of these vehicles for school transportation, and that they are subject to penalties for violations. Last October, for example, two dealers in Texas were fined a total of nearly $6,000. "School buses are subject to more safety requirements than any other vehicle on the road, and NHTSA is researching additional safety enhancements. Federal regulators set the bar very high to make sure school buses are as safe as humanly possible," he added. "How ironic that we have school buses that provide incredible protection for our young people, but some states have enacted laws permitting the use of a less safe alternative," Gauthier said. "Some require school buses for public school students, but permit the use of vans for private schools, day care centers, special education, Head Start and homeless students, and sporting events. All students deserve the superior protection afforded by the big yellow school bus, whether going to and from school or an extracurricular activity." Every year, the nation's 440,000 school buses travel about 4.3 billion miles, transporting some 24 million children to and from school and school-related activities. They have an impressive safety record, unequaled in the transportation industry. An average of nine school-age children die each year as occupants of school buses, but most of these fatalities involved catastrophic crash circumstances. "In contrast, more than 600 school-age children are killed each year in passenger cars, light trucks and vans during normal school transportation hours. Almost all of these deaths could be prevented if children rode in school buses," Gauthier said. He credited the stellar safety performance of school buses to the sheer size of the bus that gives it the advantage in all but the most severe crashes; tough federal safety standards that exceed those required in other passenger vehicles; and the skill, special licensing and training requirements of school bus drivers. A listing of states and their policies on van use for pupil transportation follows.
United
States Senate December 17, 1999 Dear Governor Huckabee: We are writing to ask your help to ensure- the safety of children traveling to and from school. In June of this year, the National Transportation Safety -Board (NTSB) conducted a noteworthy investigation on the use of buses that do not conform to federal safety standards for the transportation of children in school buses. The NTSB study examined a series of school bus crashes occurring in 1998 and early 1999 in which a total of nine people were killed and thirty-six were injured. Most of the victims, including eight fatalities, were children. After a careful review of these incidents, the NTSB concluded the crash victims might have sustained fewer and less severe injuries had they been riding in buses that met federal safety standards for transporting children in school buses. In general school bus travel is one of the safest forms of transportation in the United States. Each year more than 23.5 million children travel more than 4.3 billion miles on school buses. Despite the significant number of students transported and miles traveled, an average of nine children die each year. Obviously, any loss of life is tragic and this record can and should be improved. The Congress, U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) and the NTSB have consistently sought the highest level of safety for the transportation of school age children. In 1974, Congress directed the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration (NHTSA) to establish school bus safety standards. These standards require higher levels of safety performance for school buses than other passenger vehicles, including rollover protection, body joint strength, emergency exits, and floor strength. These and other standards help to ensure the safety of children transported on school buses. The Motor Carrier Safety Improvement Act of 1999, recently approved by the Congress and signed by the President, includes provisions designed to ensure proper skills and training of the school bus driver. Specifically, the Secretary of DOT is directed to establish a special Commercial Driver's License endorsement for drivers of school buses and provide for consistent training and testing requirements among the states. At a minimum, the new bus driver standards will require a driving skills test in a school bus and address proper safety procedures for loading and unloading children using emergency exits, and traversing highway rail grade crossings. While Congress and the Administration will continue working to improve and promote school bus safety, it is a matter of state discretion to require the use of school buses that conform to federal standards. Unfortunately, some school districts, day care centers, Head Start Facilities and others are hiring nonconforming buses and vans to transport school children. In the June study, the NTSB made three recommendations relevant to state governments:
Requiring the transportation of all children on buses that meet federal safety standards is one of the most important recommendations in the study. Such a requirement would help ensure that children travel to and from school in vehicles offering the highest possible level of safety protection. Ensuring the use of appropriate restraints could also reduce injuries and fatalities. Finally, the use of the guideline developed by NHTSA would further enhance the safety and operation of all vehicles used to transport children. We will continue to work at the federal level to promote safe vehicles and practices in the transportation of children on school buses. Recognizing the vital leadership role of Governors and state officials, we hope that you, together with your State legislature, will join us in this effort by promoting a strong program to ensure the safety of children traveling to and from school. We look forward to working with you to achieve improved travel safety for all Americans. Sincerely, John McCain, Chairman Ernest F. Hollins, Ranking Democrat Jim Hall, Chairman |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Based
on a recent crash in Florida and subsequent examination by the State
of similar school buses, the School Bus Information Council (SBIC)
is issuing a safety advisory to all states to examine immediately
school buses in their fleets manufactured by Carpenter Manufacturing
to determine if there are structural weld failures in the roof structure.
If defects are found, the buses should be taken out of service immediately. 
School buses meet the toughest safety requirements of any motor
vehicle and have the best safety record in the transportation industry.
School officials and parents should be reassured that school buses
remain the safest way for children to get to and from school and
that the SBIC is not aware of any injuries or fatalities that have
resulted from this condition in Carpenter buses. 