As people celebrated Valentine’s Day with their loved ones this past week, the industry celebrated the day by honoring school bus drivers who navigate through busy streets and challenging weather conditions, all while keeping an eye on students on the bus. Being behind the wheel of a school bus is nothing like sitting behind one’s own vehicle.
Which is why the nationwide “Love the Bus” program that recognizes school bus drivers for their work and dedication to the job is a casual but important “holiday” the industry observes. One article reported how E&B Transportation in Dover, Pa., held an event for drivers who serve the Dover Area School District. The company provided breakfast for the drivers and the owners handed out valentines and gift cards. The bus drivers also received posters from students.
Just as we should express to our loved ones how much they mean to us, we must all remember to say “thank you” to bus drivers every day.
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Sadly, this week was also a tragic one. A day after Valentine’s Day, an 11-year-old girl died after her school bus and a dump truck collided in Chesterfield, N.J. Identified as 11-year-old Isabelle Tezsla, she was a triplet and the daughter of a New Jersey state trooper. Her two sisters, who were also on the bus, were injured.
An article published today reported one of the sisters’ condition being upgraded to stable condition, but the other sister remains in critical condition. Based on our own fatality count, Tezsla’s is the third student so far this year to be killed inside a school bus during crash.
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Congress passed legislation that will extend a 2-percentage-point payroll tax cut for some 160 million Americans through the end of this year.
The Los Angeles Times reported that President Obama is expected to “quickly” sign the bill, which passed the House by a vote of 203-132 and the Senate by a vote of 60-36. The legislation includes an extension of long-term unemployment benefits while reducing the number of weeks unemployment insurance can be claimed.
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The House Committee on Natural Resources is expected to approve a bill that would increase logging and revenues to counties that include untaxed national forests to add funds to rural school district education coffers.
The Modesto (Calif.) Bee reported that the Republican-backed plan would be a replacement for the Secure Rural Schools Act that expired last year.
“The House bill would set up a two-year transition period, giving counties a chance to opt out of the new funding stream and revert to the less-generous old system. The bill would sidestep some environmental reviews and block lawsuits challenging some timber projects.”
Democrats, meanwhile, champion renewing the Secure Rural Schools Act. They say the new plan will hurt the environment, and they question the validity of the revenue targets.
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NHTSA published recommended guidelines to address driver distraction by in-vehicle electronic devices for vehicles 10,000 pounds GVWR and less. School buses are not mentioned in the Federal Register notice, but the guidelines would include Type A-1 small school buses.
NHTSA said it is holding three public meetings next month in Washington, D.C., Los Angeles and Chicago, though the agency is not required to do so because the guidelines would “not have the force and effect of law and will not be regulations.”
NHTSA said the guidelines would cover visual, manual and cognitive distractions, all of which would certainly apply to the school bus drivers. The new recommendations are an extension of NHTSA’s Driver Distraction Program released in 2010.
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Motorists in Washington State who purchase electric vehicles face a potential $100 annual fee that, all told, could add $1.9 million to the state’s budget over the next five years. The fee would be in response to eletric car owners no longer paying gas taxes. The state Senate passed the bill and it now moves to the House.
But those of you who are interested in potentially purchasing an electric bus probably have nothing to worry about. The bill only applies to the annual renewal fees. Allan J. Jones, state director of pupil transportation at the Washington Office of Public Instruction, reminded that school buses in Washington usually have exempt plates because they are district owned or operated by a private contractor for a district. The exception would be contractor buses that are licensed for charter work with normal business plates.
Jones told us his understanding is that the state requires municipalities and school districts to pay the state tax on gas or diesel fuel or they have to provide that same tax break to construction companies doing highway work with federal money.
“Since that is such a big pile of money, the state would lose big time if they gave districts a break,” he added. “Of course, we have a high tax here, so in some states it may not be an issue.”
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Not just a television show, kids really say and do the darndest things. In this case, it’s what one kid did along with her mother and another parent in Albuquerque, N.M. A third-grade girl, her mother and another parent stopped a school bus whose driver was having a seizure at the time he was supposed to pick up students at a neighborhood bus stop.
One of the mothers noticed that the school bus did not stop to pick up children waiting to board. The woman’s daughter knew something was wrong and yelled, “Mom, something’s not right with our bus driver,” as reported in a Feb. 16 article. While the mother was running alongside the bus, she made eye contact with a third-grader inside the bus. The student opened the bus doors to let the mother in so she could stop the bus. Meanwhile, the second parent and a student called 911.
The students inside the bus were shaken but OK, and while at the hospital, the bus driver asked if the students were alright. It goes to show that parents also need to know what to do in emergency situations like this, not just the students.
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Nowadays, more students are walking to school because of shorter, consolidated bus routes. But one student, who lives 4.6 miles away from school, had to walk to school because his mother wanted to teach him a lesson. That lesson resulted in the mother being arrested for endangering the welfare of a child, a misdemeanor.
The 10-year-old boy had been suspended from riding the school bus for the fifth time due to yelling. Obviously the mother felt like she was at her wit’s end and wanted her son to remember this lesson so he can be allowed to ride the bus. Apparently the son realized this, as the article stated that he believes his mother didn’t do anything wrong. However, this incident raises the question, as stated by a police official in the article, “You ask yourself the question, is that safe for the child?”
