Operation Lifesaver published a reminder on what school bus drivers should do when approaching railroad tracks in time for school startup and in preparation for National School Bus Safety Week the third full week of October.
Operation Lifesaver, a non-profit group dedicated to reducing injuries and fatalities at highway-rail crossings, follows that recommendation by advising bus drivers to slow down when they see railroad crossing signs ahead, check traffic behind the bus as it comes to a stop, prepare the bus, come to a complete stop, and “look and listen” for trains in both directions. Operation Lifesaver adds in its new poster that bus drivers should also engage parking lights and pull out of the lane, if necessary, to ensure a train is not approaching.
Additionally, bus drivers should quiet students before stopping and turn off the radio and fan to listen for a train. Only when no train is in sight can the bus proceed.
“The Safety Route Reminder reviews steps drivers need to take before crossing railroad tracks,” said Helen Sramek, president of Operation Lifesaver. “School buses must open the door and stop prior to the crossing—to give a good view down the tracks. Other vehicle drivers are reminded to stop when behind a school bus at a railroad crossing. These actions will help keep our students safe.”
The National School Transportation Specifications & Procedures manual that is revised by the industry every five years also recommends that school buses drivers nationwide are required to come to a complete stop at least 15 feet from the crossing, open the loading doors and scan railroad tracks to look and listen for approaching trains.
These recommendations includes 12 steps bus drivers should take, adapted from 1998 fact sheet developed by the National Safety Council, which include what to do if the school bus stalls while crossing the tracks. In that scenario, bus drivers should evacuate students and move them a safe distance away as quickly as possible. If a train is approaching, students and the driver should walk in the direction of the on-coming train at a 45-degree angle away from the train tracks.
About 4,000 collisions between trains and motor vehicles occur each year, resulting in some 500 fatalities and 1,500 injuries.One of the most deadly school bus-train collision in the nation’s history occurred in Fox River Grove, Ill., in October 1995. Seven students were killed and 24 others and the bus driver were injured.
The most recent, fatal school bus-train crash occurred in Conasaugua, Tenn., in the year 2000. Two studetns were killed and five were injured along with the school bus driver.
