School Bus Fleet

FACT 2013

A management & maintenance magazine for school transportation fleets

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feedback Students should be educated on stop-arm laws We were seeing a lot of students passing stopped school buses ["Yellow bus laws: Is driver's ed doing enough?" October issue, pg. 4, and SBF blog, Sept. 27]. I got in touch with our driver's ed teacher and now go to each class and educate the students about the dangers and the laws. I also tell the students to tell their parents or anyone else what they have learned. We have 16 buses, and all are equipped with stop-arm cameras. I believe that it is making a difference. JIM ROTH Transportation Director Carlinville (Ill.) School District Good ftness tips for school bus drivers I loved the real-world and honest "3 Key Reasons for Bus Drivers to Get Fit — and How to Get There" article by Larry Hannon Jr. [October issue, pg. 43, and Schoolbus feet.com, Sept. 24]. I printed it off and stuck a copy in every driver box. LIONEL PINN Director of Transportation Centralia-Chehalis Pupil Transportation Cooperative Centralia, Wash. Drivers must be conscientious in child check I applaud the efforts of Eddie McKenzie and Donald Tudor for designing and producing the Double Check Child/Safety System ["Flag system shows that bus has been checked," October issue, pg. 11]. Let their concern for student safety not be diminished by my comments. The very headline itself brings to mind the importance of driver selection, training and supervision. Like the crossing control arm, onboard cameras, backing alarms and other safety-related features on school buses, if the driver is not conscientious and focused on the unique tasks associated with driving a school bus, the added equipment becomes just that, and not a deterrent for sometimes tragic results. Acknowledging that most school bus drivers perform their duties in a safe, professional manner, I submit that a child 8 SCHOOL BUS FLEET check system, whether manual or electronic, does not "show that [the] bus has been checked." Rather, it shows that the driver — or possibly a passenger — has activated or deactivated the device. (Unfortunately, I have heard many times of passengers doing this.) A former editor of SBF was chastised via letters to the editor for his frm stance against school bus drivers who were found guilty of leaving children on board the bus. If lenience is the attitude of management regarding consequences, children will be left on board with or without child check systems. GEORGE HORNE President Horne Enterprises Metairie, La. Good subs help dispatchers Spare drivers are one of the greatest assets to any dispatcher — especially one that can hop in a bus and do any run anywhere in any town (they've driven in multiple towns) and knows how to navigate the landscape wherever they go ["Subs: Choosing the Right Drivers for the Job," October issue, pg. 14, and Schoolbusfeet.com, Sept. 19]. It's also up to a seasoned dispatcher to appreciate and recognize a hard-working, dedicated and successful spare driver that gives it their all — to help the dispatcher look good — as things roll smoothly along the road. KRISTINE NYACK School Bus Driver M & J Bus Inc. Colchester, Conn. Top 100 update For the Top 100 School District Fleets list, October issue, pg. 30, we received updated feet data for DeKalb County (Ga.) School District after press time. Here are DeKalb's updated numbers (which keep the district positioned at No. 20): ROUTE BUSES 2013 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .863 ROUTE BUSES 2012 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .885 CHANGE 2013 VS. 2012 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -22 TOTAL BUSES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .941 SMALL BUSES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33 LARGE BUSES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .908 CONTRACTOR BUSES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 STUDENTS TRANSPORTED DAILY . . . . . . 70,000 ROUTE MILEAGE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10,000,000 www.schoolbusfeet.com VP, Bus and Rail/Publisher Frank Di Giacomo Executive Editor Thomas McMahon Managing Editor Kelly Aguinaldo Senior Editor Nicole Schlosser EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD David Anderson, director of transportation and fleet service, Adams 12 Five Star Schools, Thornton, Colo. Michael Dallessandro, transportation director, Niagara Wheatfield Central School District, Niagara Falls, N.Y. Ted Finlayson-Schueler, president, Safety Rules!, Syracuse, N.Y. Tim Flood, executive vice president, The Trans Group, Spring Valley, N.Y. Derek Graham, North Carolina state pupil transportation director Charlie Hood, Florida state director of pupil transportation Pam McDonald, director of transportation, Orange (Calif.) Unified School District Michael Shields, director of transportation, Salem-Keizer Public Schools, Salem, Ore. Cheryl Wolf, special-needs transportation consultant, Lafayette, Ind. Senior Production Manager Sarah Paredes Production Manager Mary Reimer Art Director Yuda Chen Audience Marketing Manager Bill Ciesielczyk Reader Service Tammy Katata For Subscription Inquiries (888) 239-2455 Classified Advertising Sales Donna Stewart (405) 260-1678 Fax: (405) 260-1684 E-mail: donna_stewart@cox.net Chairman Edward J. Bobit NAPT Hall of Fame-1999 President and CEO Ty Bobit VP and Chief Operating Officer Cyndy Drummey Chief Financial Officer Richard E. Johnson BUSINESS & EDITORIAL OFFICES Bobit Business Media 3520 Challenger St., Torrance, CA 90503 (310) 533-2471 Fax: (310) 533-2512 E-mail: sbf@bobit.com Website: www.schoolbusfleet.com VP, Bus and Rail/Publisher Frank Di Giacomo 49 S. Maple Ave. Marlton, NJ 08053 (856) 596-0999 • Fax: (856) 596-0168 Associate Publisher Mark Hollenbeck 3115 NE McDonald Ln. McMinnville, OR 97128 (503) 472-8200 • Fax: (503) 472-8228 PRINTED IN U.S.A.

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