NATIONAL COALITION OF SCHOOL BUS SAFETY NEWS 2007

House OKs Bill To Screen Bus Drivers

Under a bill adopted in the House and now pending before the Senate, school bus drivers would be subjected to strict new background checks and banned from driving buses if they fail random drug screens.

State lawmakers crafted the new provisions after the death of 65-year-old Dean Carlson of West Hartford in October. Carlson was stuck and killed by Robert Fountain, an ex-convict with a temporary license who police said tested positive for cocaine at the time of the accident.

The state Department of Motor Vehicles initiated strict new screening standards after Carlson's death. The proposed bill incorporates some of those standards into law and expands on them.

Under the law, the DMV would be prohibited from issuing temporary school bus driver licenses to individuals who have not had a criminal background check. Bus companies would have to check all drivers against lists of those eligible to drive and ensure that individuals who fail random drug tests cannot drive school buses.

The bill passed unanimously in the House of Representatives May 31.

"What happened to Mr. Carlson was tragic," said state Rep. Andrew Fleischmann, D-West Hartford. "It's my hope that, in passing this new law, we can derive some small measure of good from this tragedy."

Prospective school bus drivers will also be subjected to state child abuse registry background checks, under the proposed law. In addition, bus companies would have to undertake bi-monthly checks to determine if their drivers are properly licensed. Carriers would be subjected to fines of up to $2,500 for failing to adhere to the guidelines.

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