DES PLAINES, Ill., Dec. 4 /PRNewswire/
-- School buses carry precious cargo and although everyone agrees that the
singular objective of school bus transportation is to safely transport
students to and from school and school activities, fatal accidents
continue to occur, such as last Thursday's accident in Herndon, Kentucky.
In an effort to minimize the potential for harm to the passengers and
drivers alike, the American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) recommends
that everyone involved -- school districts, contractors, parent teachers
associations and drivers -- work together to analyze and solve all the
risk issues to increase school transportation safety.
One problem facing school districts is finding and retaining good
drivers. School districts and the contractors who often provide school
transportation for the districts should work hard to attract and retain
quality drivers. According to ASSE's Transportation Practice Specialty
Administrator Carmen Daecher, "Although school bus transportation is
considered largely important, driving a school bus can be one of the
lowest-paying and least-rewarding jobs due to the meager pay scale. This
along with the conflict, stress, anger and frustration that school bus
drivers encounter on a daily basis tends to impress upon drivers that they
simply are not important." School districts and contractors should develop reasonable compensation
packages; provide required training as well as supplemental training to
help drivers cope with stress, conflict, passenger management and safety,
and defensive driving. Drivers must be alerted to potential vehicle
problems or conditions that can cause breakdowns or unsafe operating
conditions. "Organizations must find ways to assure drivers that they are part
of the organization -- an important part of the company's overall
success," Daecher, of Camp Hill, Pennsylvania, continued. "By
helping drivers feel that they belong, organizations will retain quality
drivers." Additionally, it is recommended that a sound, consistent vehicle
maintenance program be in place. "Often, too much attention is
focused on damaged seats and bus interiors when all critical safety
systems should be regularly inspected by qualified service
technicians," Daecher said. "Drivers must also conduct thorough
daily pre-and post-trip inspections. This is the best way to detect
breakdowns or component failures as they occur." Comprehensive, active management involvement is needed. It is crucial
to have complete documentation of driver qualifications, training and
behaviors
Beyond these recommendations, management must work with employees to identify, analyze and solve risk issues. "Listening to drivers and other employees and responding to their safety suggestions or requests is fundamentally important to retaining good employees," he said. "Analyzing losses, determining root causes and producing change within the organization to prevent future occurrences should be part of an ongoing process of continuous improvement."
For more information check ASSE's web site at www.asse.org.
Founded in 1911, the non-profit ASSE is the largest and oldest professional safety organization. Its 33,000 members located throughout the U.S. and the world, manage, supervise, research and consult on safety, health, transportation and environmental issues in industry, government, education and insurance. In addition, ASSE has 12 practice specialties in construction, consultation, engineering, environmental, healthcare, industrial hygiene, international, management, mining, public sector, risk management/insurance and transportation, where members provide expertise when developing safety standards, legislation and regulation throughout the U.S. and the world.
SOURCE: American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE)
WEB SITE: http://www.asse.org/
ST: Illinois, Kentucky
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