An informative seminar at the STN EXPO East conference will combine classroom education with hands-on demonstrations to illustrate the importance of ensuring proper mirror placement on school buses and combatting distracted driving.
The “Focused Driver 111: Proper Mirror Adjustment and Distracted Driving” session is scheduled for March 28. Safe School Bus Consulting owner Dave McDonald will start with a classroom session on Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 111 guidance. This will include the history and subsequent evolution of the standard and then lead into school bus driver responsibilities regarding proper mirror adjustment to ensure that the driver has the required field of view around the bus.
Attendees will proceed to the parking lot and participate in a real-life demonstration of determining blind spots and making sure the mirrors are properly adjusted to cover them. McDonald will use traffic cones to mimic the cylinders called for by FMVSS 111 to conduct a grid exercise developed for testing the mirrors. The purposes is to confirm that the mirrors are mounted and adjustable to a position to see the parts of the grid needed. The placement of the cones will represent where young children could be approaching and walking near the school bus.
Driver Training With an Eye on Distractions
McDonald will also discuss distracted driving, including the many distractions that could pull away the attention of a school bus drivers. He will also discuss how to train drivers to take responsibility of reviewing their mirrors before even starting the vehicle. McDonald plans to review video cases of distracted driving, including a recent incident involving a girl in Brooklyn who was struck and killed by a school bus, and engage with attendees to identify what could have been done differently. He said he plans to outline not only distracted driving causes but deterrents, preventions and potential consequences for failing to follow guidelines.
Listen to School Transportation Nation Podcast Episode 296 with Dave McDonald.
McDonald worked for Rosco Vision Systems, the sponsor of the training session, for 26 years in product development of cross view mirror systems as well as in sales and engineering. McDonald said he hopes to empower and equip attendees with information that explains the common mistakes made by transportation departments.
The STN EXPO East conference will be held on March 26-31 at Embassy Suites by Hilton Charlotte Concord Golf Resort & Spa. Main conference registration gives access to five days of educational sessions, hands-on training, unique networking events, product demonstrations and updates on the latest industry happenings. Register at stnexpo.com/east.
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