Even though a bomb scare on two Colorado buses on Wednesday was a false alarm, it served as an important reminder for school districts to be fully prepared for any emergency when classes resume. Coincidentally, the Houston Independent School District Transportation Department on Thursday conducted its new counter-terrorism training, which included a mock disaster drill.
During the counter-terrorism training, participants learned basic techniques such as doing pre- and post-trip inspections of the bus, looking for suspicious items (i.e., canisters, metal boxes or containers) that could carry explosives and immediately reporting anything questionable, even a duffle bag left behind.
“We can never prepare our drivers and attendants too much to be successful on the road,” said HISD Transportation Senior Manager Chester Glaude. “It is important that our team is fully prepared for all situations to make sure that HISD children feel comfortable and safe on our school buses.”
HISD Transportation stages the mock disaster drill event every year to give all district bus drivers and attendants the training and tools they need to safely transport 30,000 students to and from school.
To add a dose of realism to the disaster drill, an older-model school bus was overturned on its side and used as a hands-on learning lab for all bus drivers and attendants. This drill allowed transportation staff to practice skills acquired in previous trainings such as student management and emergency evacuation.
In addition, this mock disaster drill involved staged human injuries to reinforce the first-aid training that bus drivers and attendants received in May.
Also in May, the HISD Transportation Department was one of two districts selected as finalists for the prestigious Larson Quality Award. The Leland E.G. Larson Quality Student Transportation Program, established by NAPT, recognizes school bus operations that provide high-quality customer service in safety-centered operations. The winner of this national award will be recognized at the upcoming NAPT Conference in October.
