Is the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reopening the school bus lap/shoulder seat belt debate? Apparently so, judging from an all-day meeting and working group hosted by the agency on Thursday in Washington, D.C. A school bus official we spoke with immediately after the event said that NHTSA Administrator Mark Rosekind provided these parting words (we paraphrase): Sometime this fall the agency would have a plan in place regarding occupant restraint systems on school buses.
While vague, the statement indicates the feds are serious about taking another look at the issue. This became apparent when Rosekind first made similar statements earlier this year, soon after his confirmation to the post. He reiterated those thoughts to one of our correspondents in February at the American School Bus Council “Love the Bus” event in Arlington, Virginia. Only time will tell whether any new proposed rulemaking is on the horizon.
But he took many in the industry by surprise when he called the meeting “School Bus Occupant Protection: Taking Safety to a New Level.” (Watch the two recorded sessions in their entirety.) Still, Rosekind and several NHTSA speakers who followed him were adamant about the fact that school buses remain the safest mode of transportation in the U.S., adding that students should be riding school buses whenever possible to get to and from school. But, they were compelled to ask: Can school buses be made even safer?
Guests in attendance told us that the day consisted of discussion between highway safety experts and school bus professionals who have real-world experience using lap/shoulder belts as well as individual work groups who discussed the barriers to implementing the technology — namely, funding — and potential solutions.
“Especially since we had real-world experience there, it offered him some new things to chew on,” said one industry representative who attended. “There still are barriers and a long way to go on this, but overall it was a very positive day.”
Both the National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation Services and National School Transportation Association were represented. NASDPTS issued a revised position last fall that encourages lap/shoulder belts on all seat belts when funding is available, ultimately leaving the decision up to local districts. NSTA also reiterated its position that the decision of whether or not to require three-point seat belts on large school buses should be a local one. Executive Director Ronna Weber flew to D.C. from the NSTA Annual Convention in Minneapolis and also raised other concerns during the discussion. For example, she pointed out NHTSA should place more emphasis on increasing safety around the danger zone at school bus stops to have a greater effect on safety.
In case you missed it, here’s what Rosekind had to say this week about vehicle connectivity, which is gaining a lot of steam in the commercial segment and, especially school buses. IC Bus announced this week it would be the third large-bus OEM to offer from-factory telematics. NHTSA and the U.S. Department of Transportation as a whole are getting involved in ensuring safety of vehicle-to-vehicle technology, and Rosekind made some interesting comments about protecting the cybersecurity of these systems.
Speaking of NHTSA, the STN EXPO officially kicks off Saturday with the return of the NHTSA Child Passenger Safety Restraint Systems on School Buses seminar. NHTSA asked for the school bus team to submit a proposal two years ago to refine the eight-hour program. Also on tap Saturday is the workshop “Writing a School Bus Evacuation Plan,” designed to assist student transporters in developing more comprehensive plans that eliminate risk and liability in training and in the actual the event of an emergency that requires evacuating a school bus.
On Sunday, STN’s partnership with the Transportation Security Administration will be highlighted in a 3.5-hour tabletop discussion based on two security scenarios involving students on the school bus. A panel of no less than 13 local first responders and safety or security professionals from Reno and the greater Washoe County are participating. The session is based on TSA’s Intermodal Security Training Exercise Program, or I-STEP.
That evening, TSA also presents a session on the return of the First Observer program, which was on hiatus until late last year.
Peggy Burns at the Southeastern States Pupil Transportation Conference in Arlington, Texas, last week. (Photo courtesy Jaime Gallego.)On a bittersweet note, the 22nd Annual STN EXPO marks the final one for legal expert and presenter Peggy Burns, who is retiring from the industry at the end of this year. Peggy has been at the EXPO almost from the start, when STN founder Bill Paul called on her to bring much-needed legal and compliance information to attendees as well as readers of the magazine.
Certainly this coming week in Reno will be filled with laughter and tears as we thank her for her service to the industry and send her off into retirement and the full-time, uninterrupted joy of being a grandmother. More importantly, we will recognize her friendship over the years. While she has a few more stops to make this year on the speaking circuit (and one next year at the Texas Association for Pupil Transportation annual summer meeting), she will be greatly missed by a our publishing and events company as well as student transporters everywhere who are better for having known her, worked with her and learned from her.
Thanks for the memories, Peggy. We know you will stay in touch!
Note: She will be presenting the topics “Trysts, Tumults & Trends: Managing Your Workforce” with a focus on developing employee handbooks; “What’s Trending in Student Management & Discipline of Students with Disabilities & Preschoolers” along with Alexandra Robinson, executive director of transportation for the New York City DOE, and David Stoeger, transportation safety specialist with Wyoming Child and Family Development; and “Protected or Prisoner: Restraint Considerations in Law, Operations & Practice” with Sue Shutrump, supervisor of occupational therapy and physical therapy for the Trumbull County ESC in Ohio. Peggy is also a panelist on the Monday general session “50 Shades of Gray: Transportation Issues are Rarely Black or White.”
Find more information on this year’s EXPO workshops and sessions.
