Turning Tragedy into Triumph How One School District Can Make a Difference

1
Turning Tragedy into Triumph How One School
District Can Make a Difference

• Westbrook Bus Crash Families
• Texas Chapter of National Coalition for School
  Bus Safety
• 2007

2
The BISD Success Story

• Our Accident March 29, 2006
• What we learned together
• - Making Buses Safer For Kids (9 min DVD)
• Action Taken Implemented
• Doing the right thing. Why you cant afford to
  ignore it.

3
Cost of Lap-Shoulder Technology

• Cost Effective in new buses
• BISD experience
• - added 10,144 to 89,726.00 bus
• - cost less than 10 of total bus cost
• Manufacturer quotes 7,000-10,000 additional
  costs depending on type of bus
• Cost Savings
• - reduced/eliminated charter cost
• - reduced insurance premium?
• Can you afford not to?

4
2007 Legislative Session Efforts Underway

• Ashley and Alicias Bill
• TX HB229 filed by Rep. Alan Ritter (Beaumont)
  requiring school buses acquired on or after
  9/1/07 to be equipped with lap-shoulder belts for
  all occupants.
• HB323 filed by Rep. Mike Tuffy Hamilton
  (Orange)
• TX SB118 companion bill filed by Sen. Judith
  Zaffirini
• Additional Bills filed by other Rep. (Waco)

5
Accidents Happen

• Statewide Texas for 1998-2001 time period
• - 7.25 annual fatality school bus accidents
• - 857 annual non-fatal injury school bus
  accidents
• - 16 annual fatal motor coach/transit
  accidents
• - 1636.75 annual non-fatal injury motor
  coach/transit accidents
• Texas Dept. Statistics (latest information
  available)

6
Injuries Happen

• American Pediatric Society Study
• - 2001-2003 time period
• - 51,100 school bus related injuries that
  resulted in treatment in a U.S. emergency room
• - 17,0000 injuries annually (almost triple
  the amount previously reported by government
  statistics)
• - 42 of injuries from school bus accidents
  (leading cause)
• School bus - related injuries among children and
  teenagers in the United States, 2001-2003
  McGeehan et. al., Pediatrics (Nov. 2006)

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Fatalities

• 70 of fatalities resulting in motor coach and
  school bus crashes involved rollovers
• 16-20 school bus accident related fatalities of
  each year as reported by NHTSA-Transportation
  Research Board but may be even higher upon
  reviews of individual state statistics

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Additional Thoughts

• 4 states require lap belts California mandated
  lap/shoulder belts in new buses July 2005
• Dangerous trend Motor coach industry direct
  targeting school districts
• ncsbs.org safebuses4kids.org