TOP TRAFFIC SAFETY OFFICIAL
WARNS ABOUT DANGEROUS
SCHOOL BUS HANDRAILS

August 29, 1995

With the new school year about to begin, the nation's leading traffic safety official underscored his concern about a hidden safety problem in some school buses that could put youngsters at risk for injury or death.

Ricardo Martinez, M.D., head of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), said that five students since 1991 have been killed and others injured when clothing, especially coat drawstrings, got snagged in handrails as they stepped off school buses. They were dragged and subsequently run over as the school bus moved forward.

Dr. Martinez said school buses manufactured by A. Girardin, Inc., AmTran/Ward, Bluebird, Carpenter, Coach and Equipment Co., Collins Bus Corporation, Gillig Corporation, Sturdicorp, Thomas Built Buses and Van-Con, Inc. were recalled to change the handrail designs and make them less prone to snagging.

"But it is not enough to have a recall. Someone needs to make sure that the repairs actually are performed. As of last school year, many had not been done," Dr. Martinez said.

According to NHTSA, some buses made by the Wayne Corporation also are prone to snagging and must be fixed. "This firm is no longer in business and will not be contacting bus owners. Owners of these buses must find and install remedies on their own initiative, and I cannot overemphasize how important it is to do so," Dr. Martinez said.

He said he hoped that transportation authorities at school districts throughout the United States used the summer slack time for buses to install the handrail modifications and added to school bus driver training programs information to deal with the problem. At least two states, Connecticut and Ohio, developed inspection tools for identifying potentially hazardous handrails.

Dr. Martinez urged parents to insist that any buses that need the modifications actually have the repairs performed and that children know about the risk from drawstrings. "Dangling drawstrings are dangerous. I recommend parents call school administrators and ask if there is a program to make students aware of the danger from dangling drawstrings and whether the handrails on affected buses from their schools have been fixed," Dr. Martinez said.