13th National Conference on School Transportation

Resolutions Point Industry Toward Future

WARRENSBURG, Mo. - Formal resolutions typically serve two purposes. First, to thank the sponsors, organizers and volunteers who have made some activity possible. Several of the 14 final resolutions approved by the 13th National Conference on Pupil Transportation served this purpose.

Formal resolutions also signal future intent. Several of the resolutions approved by the delegates to the 13th NCST fall into the latter category. They clearly signal the expected future course of action at the 14th NCST tentatively scheduled for the year 2005.

While some of the 14 resolutions address procedural issues others address substantive issues.

On the procedural side, delegates directed the leadership of the 14th NCST to provide draft documents for review to the delegates at least three weeks prior to the start of the conference. A number of delegates at the 13th conference were overheard grumbling about not receiving the draft documents until a few days before the conference began, not allowing them enough time to study proposed changes.

They also directed conference leadership to provide an annual progress report to the industry on the implementation of the final proceedings of the 13th NCST, and planning for the 14th NCST.

Seeking to refine one of the asking up one of the contentious issues of the conference in which the final report is no longer considered a set of standards, delegates approved a resolution to examine developing two separate documents at future conferences. One document would contain detailed specifications (probably for the body and chassis sections), and the second would contain procedures, i.e. best practices, for other segments of the final report.

Delegates also addressed substantive matters. Bowing to the continued federal support for public transit, delegates urged the Chair of the Interim/Steering Committee to seek federal funding for new and existing school bus safety programs such as National School Bus Safety Week, the National School Bus Safety Poster Contest, and a national school bus safety speech contest. They also voted to require conference leadership "to secure funding to promote the use of the yellow school bus as the preferred mode of transportation to and from school and school-related activities." Largely because school transportation is a state rather than a federally funded program, federal dollars do not flow into the operational and capital side of the industry.

Delegates approved a resolution to expand the national database tracking loading/unloading fatalities. Currently, the School Bus Safety Education Unit of the Kansas Dept. of Education assembles the annual Loading/Unloading Zone Survey. Delegates urged that it be expanded to include non-fatal incidents that result in disabling injuries, the length of the disability, the short-term and long-term financial impact resulting from injury or fatality in the loading/unloading zones, and to identify the equipment installed on the bus in any incident reported on the survey.

The move toward reporting injuries is seen by some in the industry as a response to critical reports two years ago by CNN highlighting the incidence of student injuries rather than fatalities as an indication of a lack of safety within pupil transportation. While the industry generally did not agree with CNN's analysis, recognition emerged that reliable injury data about school bus transportation is not readily available. This resolution addresses that concern.

In an effort first floated in 1985, delegates urged that a uniform incident reporting procedure for student related injuries and fatalities be developed over the next five years. Fifteen years ago when the 11th Minimum Standards Conference approved a national accident reporting system, the idea floundered because police agencies nationwide refused to change their data gathering forms to accommodate the needs of the school bus industry; Even then, pupil transportation was considered one of the safest forms of highway travel. Rather than chart a separate course for the industry, delegates this time directed a more moderate course. They directed the leadership of the 14th NCST to "coordinate with other national organizations that may benefit from student injury data."

Occupant crash protection was also on the minds of delegates. They urged consideration of air bags to protect school bus drivers. For student passengers, delegates supported continuing research by NHTSA into improved occupant protection "based on adequate data and science." Delegates specifically did not comment on the issue of seat belts in school buses.

Among the other resolutions approved, delegates urged the adoption of federal and state laws to disallow the use of non-conforming vans and other vehicle than school buses to transport children to-and-from school and on school-related activities; asked state and federal governments to prohibit advertising on school buses; and urged industry associations to examine methods to incorporate safety and efficiency through the concept known as "intelligent transportation systems."