School Bus Fleet, November 2017

www schoolbusfleet com General Manager Publisher JAMES BLUE 310 533 2449 Fax 310 533 2512 Email james blue@ bobit com VP Emeritus NAPT Hall of Fame 2016 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 Email mark hollenbeck@ bobit com Executive Editor THOMAS McMAHON Managing Editor NICOLE SCHLOSSER Editorial Assistant MICHAELA KWOKA COLEMAN Senior Graphics Artist YUDA CHEN Senior Production Manager SARAH PAREDES Senior Audience Development Manager BILL CIESIELCZYK For Subscription Inquiries 888 239 2455 Classified Advertising Sales DAVID AVILA 310 533 2517 Fax 310 533 2512 Email david avila@ bobit com EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD David Anderson Director of Transportation and Fleet Adams 12 Five Star Schools Thornton Colorado Michael Dallessandro Veteran Transportation Director Grand Island New York Ted Finlayson Schueler President Safety Rules Syracuse New York Tim Flood Executive Vice President The Trans Group Spring Valley New York Derek Graham Pupil Transportation Consultant Cary North Carolina Pam McDonald Director of Transportation and Mechanical Services Orange Calif Unified School District Michael Shields Director of Transportation and Auxiliary Services Salem Keizer Public Schools Salem Oregon Cheryl Wolf Special Needs Transportation Consultant Lafayette Indiana BOBIT BUSINESS MEDIA Chairman 1961 2014 NAPT Hall of Fame 1999 EDWARD J BOBIT President and CEO TY BOBIT VP and Chief Operating Officer CYNDY DRUMMEY Chief Financial Officer ARMAND DEL DUCA Business Editorial Offices Bobit Business Media 3520 Challenger St Torrance CA 90503 310 533 2587 Fax 310 533 2512 Email sbf@ bobit com PRINTED IN U S A FLEET 6 SCHOOL BUS FLEET NOVEMBER 2017 WWW SCHOOLBUSFLEET COM Community FEEDBACK A Call for Streamlining Driver Training I have noticed over the years that its harder to become a bus driver I can understand the logic of some of the rules but some seem to be selfdefeating and unnecessary First of all why are states allowed to add requirements to the federal standards A prime example of this is seat belts on all buses Most districts cannot afford to retrofit their buses and the contractors wont do it unless it becomes an enforceable law and would create an unnecessary financial burden for districts and contractors especially smaller contractors Secondly the pre trip post trip inspections are not consistent across the board due to states having the freedom to add anything that they deem relevant This alone is placing an even greater burden on an industry that is already grossly understaffed Some states have continually made inspections more difficult with each passing year and many trainees either give up and find another line of work or end up taking more time than planned for their training When I trained even if we were in a school bus we trained as if we were testing to drive a motorcoach and were not required to check the eight way lights at all but now trainees have to Also on the pre trip some states require the trainee to open the hood and point out various things They say they want a driver to know what goes wrong in the event of a breakdown Most drivers do not have the mechanical qualifications to try to diagnose the problem and if they have students on board they would not be allowed to leave the drivers area I know that all of the rules and regulations are in place for a reason but seeing a concept on paper and practically applying that concept can be two different matters The bottom line is that if the process was streamlined removing impractical material from the pre trip and employment process and all states only using the federal standards that would result in more qualified candidates in less time than before Brian Ferrell Former School Bus Driver Holts Summit Missouri WATCH LOOK Bilingual School Bus Safety Message In both English and Spanish this musical PSA from Springdale Ark School District makes it clear that motorists need to stop for school buses that are loading or unloading students schoolbusfleet com Nov17c PHOTOS Florida School Bus Teams Take Action for Hurricane Irma See how transportation departments evacuated residents both people and pets and prepared their buses to endure the massive storm schoolbusfleet com Nov17d