NATIONAL COALITION OF SCHOOL BUS SAFETY NEWS 2007

Keeping Kids Safe on the School Bus
February 9, 2007

School buses are getting a lot of attention lately because of a string of accidents. In the past month there have been accidents in cities across the viewing area. In addition to these accidents there were many other minor ones.

One of those accidents happened this week in Waterloo. The school bus was taking a load of students to Central Middle School Tuesday morning when it had to stop quickly for a snow plow and then got rear-ended by a small pick-up.

Tuesday's bus accident is described as minor by police and the school, but one parent we talked to claims the school didn't take appropriate action soon enough. At the time of the accident, only one student complained of pain, he was cleared by the school nurse.

But Jacquet Wilder's daughter was sore later that night.

"I said what's wrong and she said I got into a bus accident today. And I got hysterical and I said are you okay. And I can't believe I didn't get any contact and I immediately checked my cell phone and my house phone to see if I had any messages I missed," said Wilder.

Doctors diagnosed 12-year-old Brooklyn Lee with a strained muscle in her back and neck area. She's been out of school since Wednesday and starts physical therapy next week.

Sharon Miller with Waterloo Schools admits there was a slight delay notifying parents, but she said a letter went home with students Wednesday explaining the accident and asking parents to be alert for developing injuries.

"We do want parents to know, and if there's anything that could develop afterwards, sometimes you might not know immediately if a child has had either a physical or an emotional reaction to an incident," said Miller.

Karl Hartman is the Contract Manager for First Student, the bus company used by Waterloo Schools. He said  it takes a lot to damage these 29,000 pound vehicles.

"Buses are built very safely. They're one of the safest vehicles on the road today, so even if there is an accident the children are protected as much as possible," said Hartman.

Some safety features include high seat backs covered with energy absorbent material and bus drivers must have a Class B Commercial Drivers License with a federal school bus endorsement.

Besides a CDL, drivers also go through training by the Iowa Department of Education once a year and First Student has training once a month. Hartman said the most imporant safety component is awareness.

"They're out there, they're in the traffic and other people need to be watching us as well as us watching them," he said.

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