School Buses and Black Ice

Black Ice

Temperatures were up on Wednesday, and by 'up' I mean into the low double digits.  Overnight the winds blew snow over many of the country roads, forming black ice.  One of these patches of black ice caught one of our buses.

The American Meteorological Society defines black ice as "a thin sheet of ice, relatively dark in appearance, [that] may form when light rain or drizzle falls on a road surface that is at a temperature below 0 °C." Black ice is very thin, so it is highly transparent which makes it difficult to see.

Accident Remediation

The school bus in question was being driven by a substitute driver, and fortunately there were no children on the bus.  The driver was traveling north, well under the speed limit, hit the patch of black ice, and ended up face first in a ditch, canted at a nearly 45 degree angle.



Photo courtesy of Dan Bullard

Our buses have Angel Trax cameras.  These cameras also record bus telemetry, including speed, direction, and shows when the brakes are applied, stop arms are deployed, etc. That means that the camera system serves as a "black box" of sorts, which can provide data on the incident.

After the initial response, which in this simple case involved calling 911, calling the elementary school and fielding a few phone calls from parents because the bus was late, I began the process of accident remediation.  I contacted my boss, Assistant Superintendent Bob Yoder, and let him know what happened.  I then began a written report based on the information I already had.

When the bus returned, I pulled the hard drive from the camera, and sat down to watch video.  Each bus has four cameras.  One in the front, looking down the aisle, one in the middle, looking toward the back, and one in the back, looking down into the last two rows of seats.  There is a camera above the door which is only active when the door is opened.  When the door is shut it activates the GPS system.

All of the camera views showed the driver did nothing to initiate the incident.  In fact, the driver did not apply the brakes during the slide, the usual response when someone who is driving and starts to slide.  She kept her composure and radioed.  All in all, this incident reaffirmed that I have high-quality people who are driving our kids to school.

A School Field Trip Gone Wrong

School Field Trip

A teacher in Cusco, Peru, took her class on a field trip to the Monaco Circus.  While there she volunteered to participate in a lion act, mainly to show her class that the lion was not aggressive.

The act started out well, but suddenly the lion jumped off of a small ladder and bit the teacher around the neck and dragged her around the enclosure.  The lion tamer was able to get the lion to release the teacher, who stood up afterwards.

The teacher suffered no head wounds, but may need surgery on her neck.

School Field Trip Analysis

An incident like this is a school's nightmare.  An innocent trip turned into disaster because of an unforeseen situation.

This is a great time to review your safety protocols for field trips. Ask yourself a few questions:
1) How will your group communicate with the school in an emergency?
2) What procedures do you have spelled out for incidents while on the school bus heading to and from the destination?
3) Have you spelled out, in writing, the supervisory expectations of the school?
4) Do all the adults on the trip know of any special medical considerations?  Epi-pens, insulin, etc.?
5) Are students instructed to stay in groups?
6) What procedures do you have in place to maintain 100% accountability?
7) What are the curricular goals for the trip?  Will any activity during the trip be in support of these goals?

There are others that each school can develop.  Like other aspects of school safety, prior planning and preparation can reduce the likelihood of something happening, and help the adults in charge be better prepared if something does happen.

Enjoy your trips!

School Bus Accident Injures Three

School Bus Accident

A school bus in Southport, FL was preparing to stop to drop off a student when it was hit in the right rear by a box truck.  Two 11-year old children and the driver of the truck were transported to the hospital.  A Florida Highway patrol spokesman said none of the injuries were life-threatening.

Analysis
I serve as the Director of Transportation for a Central Indiana school district.  This is my nightmare.  My drivers constantly remind their children to sit in their seats properly.  School buses are designed to provide students with a "safe box" while sitting in the seats, facing forward.  Anytime a child gets up in the seat, turns around, or crawls around on the bus, they get outside of the safe box and place themselves at risk.

I have had conversations with parents about their child sitting properly, and their question was, "What's the big deal?"  Stories like this answer that question.  Students are not on the bus to socialize, play, or mess around.  They are on the bus to ride home.  They can play when they get home.  All these things also increase noise, which can distract the driver.

Parents, please talk with your child about the proper way to sit on the bus.  It does make a difference.  It can help them Stay Alive.

Deputies Placed on School Buses after Violent Incident

Bartow, FL

After a violent incident on a school bus in which a student was knocked unconscious by a "sucker punch" to the head, a Florida school district is placing off-duty deputies on 12 routes.  This is a temporary move to "guarantee the safety of kids".  Video of the incident.

Analysis
Placing deputies on school buses should be a short-term plan.  The school might also plan to exclude from the school bus those students who engage in violence.  In Indiana, and elsewhere, courts have ruled that school-provided transportation is not a right, but a privilege.  Check you won state laws and school policies to see if such is the case at your school.

The first step for many schools is to remember that the authority of the schools extend to the school bus, as well as the responsibility for keeping students safe.  Take some time and assess how your school is meeting that responsibility.  After all, school-transportation related fatalities are the number one form of death in K-12 schools (Satterly, 2014).