National Coalition For School Bus Safety

NATIONAL COALITION OF SCHOOL BUS SAFETY NEWS 2007

Distracted Bus Drivers
April 30, 2007

Distracted drivers are seen every day by other motorists who share the roadways with them. What happens when those distracted drivers are the ones responsible for getting your children safely to school?

I-Team reported Ronnie Dahl started investigating distracted school bus drivers when a parent told 13abc about those drivers talking on cell phones. The WTVG photographers caught them doing more than just dialing and driving. They were eating, and reading and talking on the phone while behind the wheel of a Toledo Public Schools bus.

Valerie Hull, a mother of a bus-riding student was astonished. " No, no way." She has been depending on the bus driver to get her son to school safely, now she is thinking twice about that school bus ride.

The poor driving habits are earning some bus drivers failing grades. 13abc caught several more behaviors that give cause for concern. One bus driver flips open what appears to be a portable video game or a PDA. Another has what is believed to be his route book positioned on the bus steering wheel and is seen flipping through it what the bus is in motion.

John Foley, the Interim Superintendent with for Toledo Public Schools and he had some things to say after he viewed the video. He spoke about policies in place that require drivers to be focused on the safety of the bus and students on the bus. "We need to address with our drivers the habits they have on the bus, with students on or off the bus, so they make sure safety are the foremost importance for us."

Not all the buses video taped has students on them at the time of the infractions, but many did. There is no price to be placed on the young lives on board the buses, but each bus does cost tax payers thousands of dollars.

Mr. Foley further commented that distractions such as eating and drinking need to be eliminated and that fortunately there have not been any arrests or accidents resulting from such behavior. He also said, "We want to make sure and remind our drivers they are expected to have their eyes on the road and focus on the safety of children."

While there have been no studies done specifically on distracted school bus drivers. Numbers released from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimate driver distraction is a factor in about 30% of crashes. Drivers using cell phones are four times as likely to get into an accident.

There was a school bus crash in 2005, in Prince George's County, Maryland which sent 30 kids to the hospital. The bus driver was talking on her cell phone at the time.

Pete Japikseis is with the Ohio Department of Education and Co-Director of The American School Bus Council. He talked with 13abc about some regulations, "We've actually had rules in place here since 1998 that precluded school bus drivers from using cell phones while they are operating a school bus. What we are concerned with in the school bus industry not only assuming we do things because they are good common sense, but we want to insure guidelines are in place and rules are in place."

The Council is pushing for a nation-wide ban of cell phones on all school buses. Mr. Japikse explained, "The only kind of communication device a bus driver should be using while they operate a school bus is an installed portable radio. And even then we would recommend they use it while they are stopped."

It is not just cell phone use the Council wants to eliminate. They also want to do away with all portable communication devices, those include hands-free ear pieces and text messaging devices. These would be policies that offer another layer of precaution tp make sure your kids make it home safely from school.

Mom Valerie Hull knows that a driver can not keep their eyes on the road, listen to what someone on the phone is saying and watch kids (a whole bus load of them) all at the same time. "It's impossible."

School administrators are advising parents to talk to their kids, telling them to watch for the bus driver "dialing and driving," or any other distracting behavior. Call your school district's department of transportation and register a complaint.

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