School Bus Watch
Anti-Terrorism Training For School Bus Drivers

 

 

In July of 2005, the American Trucking Associations (ATA) partnered with the three largest school bus trade associations, the National Association for Pupil Transportation (NAPT), the National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation Services (NASDPTS), and the National School Transportation Association (NSTA) to create an anti-terrorism training program for school bus drivers. This new program is called School Bus Watch.

“School Bus Watch was developed by the school bus industry for the school bus indsutry, and is tailored specifically for our school bus drivers,” said Steve Kalmes of NAPT. “It incorporates the communication elements of another successful anti-terrorism training model - the Highway Watch® Program - in a manner that is specific to our school bus operators.”

Participants in School Bus Watch complete a short training program that raises their awareness about terrorism, shows them how terrorists operate, and teaches them to recognize unusual behavior. Training also covers safety topics such as reporting accidents, disabled vehicles, and other road hazards.

Once participants complete their training they are issued a unique School Bus Watch Identification number, an ID card, and a certificate of completion. When they observe suspicious activity or hazardous conditions, they are instructed to call the toll-free Highway Watch® hotline and identify themselves using their ID number. Call center personnel immediately contact law enforcement in the area where the incident was observed.

The Highway Watch® Call Center directs reports involving potential security threats to the Highway Information Sharing and Analysis Center (ISAC) which in turn thoroughly analyzes each report and shares the intelligence with law enforcement and national security agencies.

“School bus drivers already play an important role in the safety and security of their communities,” said Dale Krapf of NSTA. “School Bus Watch represents an important part of continuing that role and gives them some additional tools that will help them to keep their communities, their vehicles, and our children safe.”

“As a result of their daily driving routines, school bus drivers are some of the best resources on the road in each local community to notice something that is out of the ordinary,” added Pete Japikse, President of NASDPTS. “School Bus Watch will give drivers an outlet to make their reports and ensure that those reports are taken seriously by the national intelligence community.”

Initially, School Bus Watch will focus on “train-the-trainer” sessions in selected regional or state locations. As school bus driver trainers across the nation become qualified to teach the School Bus Watch program, they can conduct training for others. All training materials, driver handouts and other resources will be provided at no cost as the program is expanded to the nation’s 600,000 school transportation professionals.

“We’re very happy to have the assistance of these three organizations in delivering this very important training to members of the school bus community,” said Bill Jacobs, Vice President of Highway Watch®. “One of the Highway Watch® program’s primary goals is to see that all school bus drivers receive anti-terrorism training and this new collaboration will enable us to reach significant numbers in the coming months.”

Click here for additional information regarding the School Bus Watch program