A school district in Litchfield, Arizona, has enlisted the help of a new furry friend to boost morale among its transportation staff.

Litchfield Elementary School District #79 recently adopted Floyd, a 7-month-old miniature Dachshund, in October. Tommy Sims, transportation director, said the idea for adopting a therapy dog came about after he had mentioned to his supervisor that he wanted to get his own personal dog but couldn’t because of his long work hours.

“We began talking, and I told [my supervisor] I think I want to get a dog … She said ‘Awesome, let’s get one registered and trained as a therapy dog for your [transportation] department,’” he explained. “I did all of the paperwork and got Floyd licensed, picked him up in September, and then he started coming to the office in October.” (Note: Floyd is registered as Sims’s therapy dog and not directly to the district.)

Floyd has completed several rounds of therapy dog training and will be starting a new round of training in February, according to Sims. Sims also said that he has been bringing Floyd into the office early every day so he can get adjusted to the office environment.

“We have had pretty great morale this school year, but adding Floyd to our crew took morale to a new level,” Sims said. “Floyd is typically out in the hallway every morning after routes and in the afternoon as the team leaves to take students home.”

In addition to adopting Floyd, Sims said that the district provides ongoing support and encouragement to the transportation team — from having students send thank you cards to staff to having parents surprise them with donuts and coffee.

The biggest safety challenge for transportation operators may be the students who disobey rules, bully other passengers, or act out with violence.  Here are a few things school districts and bus drivers can do to ensure they are effectively managing student behavior and supporting a positive riding experience.

With onboard WiFi connections students can spend time completing homework on the bus. WiFi coupled with video cameras can help bus operators catch culprits in the act, and address the issue using audio and video recordings as evidence.  Districts also have the ability to notify law enforcement of incidents on the bus in real-time and address them before further endangering drivers and passengers.

Then there are seating charts and lap/shoulder seatbelts, which are designed to secure passengers in one place. Some districts agree that these methods can also dramatically improve behavior because passengers are restrained from moving around the vehicle.

School staff and transportation staff should also be trained together in student behavior management so that all staff are on the same page.

A supportive bus climate is one where students experience positive peer and adult relationships.  When students experience safe and supportive climates, they have increased bonding to school and caring about education.

A grandfather in Gladstone, Oregon, bought a unique gift for his grandchildren this Christmas: a school bus.

Doug Hayes decided about six months ago, according to a Dec. 20 post shared by his wife, Amy Hayes, on his Facebook page, to buy a school bus so he could take his grandchildren to school. “We’d sing songs, talk, and it would be something unforgettable they did with their grandfather,” his wife, Amy Hayes, quotes him in the post.

Hayes, who has 10 grandchildren, named the bus the “Grandfather Express.” He began taking some of his grandchildren, who attend a small, private school that doesn’t have school bus service, to school in January. (Five of Hayes’s grandkids aren’t old enough to attend school yet, but two more will be old enough to ride the bus next year).  Hayes told CNN that after seeing his grandchildren getting dropped off by their parents at their school in their cars, in the car line every day, that the kids said they would like to have a school bus.

Now that’s a great Christmas gift and even greater idea !!

Student transportation providers promote a safety culture through comprehensive training programs, rigorous background checks, and employee behavior positive reinforcement.

Here are five tips for school bus safety.

1. The importance of a comprehensive training program is a cornerstone for student transportation providers.  A training program should include quality classroom instruction, behind-the-wheel skill courses, and road supervisors that periodically monitor driver performance. Evaluating driver training program effectiveness will measure trainee reaction and if learning occurred. Most importantly, training should change behavior and lead to improved safety performance.
2. A student transportation provider must demonstrate that a positive safety culture begins at the top level in the organization. The strongest predictor of safety performance is leadership and safety culture. Recognizing team members that adhere to safety policies and procedures should be encouraged.
3. Recognizing the key role of dispatchers is integral to promoting safety. Dispatchers should be trained to ensure every driver is physically and mentally prepared to safely operate a school bus. Dispatchers can also provide a calming influence when communicating to drivers, especially in a difficult situation.
4. School administrators should identify the appropriate technology innovations that support the district’s strategy and financial plan. New technology should be considered once a positive safety culture and the appropriate policies and procedures are in place.
5. A rock-solid partnership between the school district, parents, and the student transportation provider will strengthen the safety environment, allowing a positive experience of working together, for the shared purpose of keeping all students safe.

Thirty-one states require vehicles to display front license plates. That number will drop to 30 come July 1 unless Ohio lawmakers change their minds and save the plate amid pressure from police and school officials.

Last spring, House Republicans insisted on eliminating the plate as part of a conference-committee deal to pass the transportation budget. They cited aesthetics, the increasing use of sensors in front bumpers, and the desires of auto dealers.

Some legislators and Gov. Mike DeWine are pushing to save the plate by enacting Senate Bill 179 to reverse the prior decision, with the safety of students now added to the mix of concerns.

School officials warn that children will be endangered by motorists who whiz past stopped buses and increasingly elude apprehension unless lawmakers reverse course on the front plate’s scheduled July 1 demise.

Loss of the plate “would reduce the chances of identifying dangerous drivers who endanger our school children when they ignore warnings to stop for school buses,” said Melody Coniglio, president of the Ohio Association for Pupil Transportation.

Col. Richard Fambro, superintendent of the State Highway Patrol, told legislators that bus drivers, assisted by video cameras, “almost exclusively utilize the front license plate to identify violators” and report them to police.  The lack of a front plate on offenders’ vehicles will make it “virtually impossible” to track down the drivers who blow past stopped school buses, said Fambro, whose troopers charge more than 600 such drivers each year.

We will keep watch on the push to reverse this decision and let you know.

Of all the blogs we do all year, safety is the most important subject we can talk about.  Safety is no accident. The phrase is an industry cliché for good reason.

“Every mother assumes that everything that can be done for safety on school buses is being done,” said Jeff Cassell, founder of School Bus Safety Company. “Most people take it for granted. But I can tell you [there are] school districts that say to me, ‘We comply with the regulations, we don’t need to do any more.’ The regulations are the minimum you can do. You can’t do any less, so you should really be doing considerably more.”

The new FMCSA entry-level driver training requirements that are required by the 2021 Moving Ahead for Progress Act (MAP-21) that was passed into law by Congress focus on qualifications, wellness, hours of service for truck drivers and whistleblower protection. They are also designed to ensure refresher courses for veteran drivers.

The new rules also mean implementing a safety management system in every commercial transportation organization.

The law was supposed to go into effect on Feb. 7, 2020. As of this report, the FMCSA was unofficially delaying the entire implementation by two years, a spokesman told attendees of the National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation annual meeting in Washington, D.C. on Oct. 15. The agency initially sought to only postpone the technical requirements for an online database.

Cassell advised that school districts and bus companies should be moving ahead with installing a compliant safety management program, with a safety management policy that is driven by leadership commitment and accountability. Safety risk management must identify, assess and mitigate risks, in tandem with the promotion of safety in communication and training.

“We know the behaviors that drivers do that consciously and deliberately lead to 99.9 percent of every accident,” Cassell explained. “We know exactly what those conscious and deliberate behaviors are: following too closely, not looking around, not looking ahead, not communicating, not rock and rolling for turns, and not counting the kids away [after they exit the bus].”

“A safety culture is where you have norms so that people automatically do it right the first time in everything they do,” Cassell stressed. “I suggest the leadership decide what are the norms you want and communicate it.”

We wish everyone a happy, healthy, and SAFE New Year!!

School bus driver Kathy Neidlinger never fails to put a smile on the face of the students she transports, especially the one day a year when she channels her inner Old Saint Nick.

Neidlinger started in pupil transportation about 36 years ago with contractor Newhurst Transportation and has been behind the wheel of a school bus ever since. She services Pine Grove Area School District in Pennsylvania, northwest of Philadelphia, and enjoys every minute of it.

Neidlinger goes all-out for the students, going as far as dressing up as Santa Claus, which elementary school principal and transportation coordinator Sandra Burns said the kids love.

“Our kids are faced with so many issues they deal with on a daily basis, it is nice to see people like [Neidlinger] who can start their day and end their day with [them],” Burns said. “She always greets them with a smile, and by chance a Santa outfit. [That is] reassuring to know that our students are beginning their school days with her and then ending it on a positive note as well.”

Dressing up isn’t solely reserved for Christmas time, though. During Halloween, she also dresses up in costumes, so her students have grown to look forward to her festivities.

“We can’t thank her enough,” Burns said. “Even when addressing any issues that do occur, [Neidlinger] is not one to yell. She will call in and ask for support, but she never ever yells at the children or [does] anything in a negative way. She will hold them accountable, but she is always pleasant in doing so.”

We should all have that spirit in our heart, not only during the holidays, but every day of the year!

From everyone at Carolina Bus Sales, have a Very Merry Christmas!!!

A school bus driver with Lewiston Public Schools in Maine has started a winter clothing drive to help keep students warm during the colder months.  Ivy Corliss developed the idea for the clothing drive after one of her students was in tears after she had no winter gear while waiting for the school bus.  Corliss added that she found extra clothes for the student at her home and wanted to continue providing winter gear to other students with the help of the community and school bus drivers.

“Having extra scarves, hats, and mittens on the buses, as well as making sure the schools have boots, snow pants, scarves, hats, and gloves will help keep kids warm this winter,” she wrote.

Corliss is urging the community to donate various winter clothing items that can fit students who are in kindergarten through high school. She also said that she is teaming up with Hudson Bus Lines and school nurses at Lewiston Public Schools and Androscoggin County Public Schools to accommodate more students with winter clothing.

“My hope is to be able to extend this amazing journey and reach as many schools as possible in the state of Maine,” Corliss added. “Thank you all so very much for helping. With your help, we can spread love and warmth to so many.”

Recently, Corliss hosted a clothing donation drop-off at the Lewiston Mall. That same day, she also posted an update in the Facebook group stating that she will soon be working with all Maine school districts — with the help of the state Department of Education — to bring more winter gear to students in need. In the meantime, Corliss said that she plans to form a committee to develop contacts in all of the state’s school districts to help coordinate and get warm winter gear to buses and schools.

With one child needing items to stay warm, the effort ballooned to a statewide donation to spread love and warmth to those in need.

We have been blogging a lot lately on states introducing harsher laws and penalties on illegal school bus passing.  South Carolina has joined in making changes.

A lawmaker in Columbia has prefiled a bill that would considerably raise penalties for illegally passing school buses and would allow the state to overrule decisions made on the locations of some school bus stops.

H4696 is sponsored by South Carolina Rep. Lin Bennett, Rep. Converse A. Chellis, Rep. Bill Taylor, Rep. R. Raye Felder, and Rep. Sylleste H. Davis. It proposes raising the penalty for running a stop arm the first time to $1,000 (up from $500) and adding a 30-day license suspension or 10 days of community service, and increases the penalty for the second offense to between $5,000 and $10,000 (up from $2,000) and includes six months to a year in jail.

The bill also calls for giving the state superintendent of education the discretion to overrule a school district’s decision regarding placement of a school bus stop if the superintendent determines it to be “dangerous.”

Bennett, who prefiled the bill on Nov. 20, said that the goal of the bill is “to get people to realize how dangerous this is … If you can’t do something as simple as stopping for a stopped school bus, you need to pay for that and you don’t need to be driving.”

The bill was also referred to the Committee on Education and Public Works on Nov. 20.

South Carolina has joined many other states in proposing laws to raise penalties on illegal

School bus company Durham School Services recently saw improvements in driver behavior as a result of deploying a video telematics system on its buses.

Durham completed installation of video telematics supplier Lytx’s event recorders across its entire fleet of 15,000 buses in December 2018.  Since the bus company’s trial with the Lytx Driver Safety Program in 2014 and the full deployment last year, National Express, Durham’s parent company, has been working to equip every bus in the larger National Express family with the Lytx system, due to the improvements Durham has seen in drivers’ overall safety.

“Lytx technology has enabled us to notice critical details in driving behavior, like failing to come to a complete stop at stop signs,” said Bob Ramsdell, chief safety officer of National Express.  “This sort of attention to detail allows us to identify not just when dangerous driving occurs but to understand how it happens, so that we can better prevent risk before it leads to an accident.”

Like many transportation companies, without video telematics, Durham School Services was only able to quantify individual risk by the number of accidents a driver had, according to Lytx. With the Lytx Driver Safety Program, the company has created a new definition of risk, built around instances of behaviors like seat belt violations, late responses, or unsafe following distance.

Another example of districts moving ahead with improving safety for their passengers.