Safety Recall of School Buses to Fix Brake Problems
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Although it can be argued the industry took too long to inform school districts and the public about the school bus brakes problem, they now are moving to inform the public concerning this serious safety issue.(jk)
First published by the national School Bus Information Council (SBIC), original story title, Parental/Media Advisory: On the Safety Recall of School Buses to Fix Brake Problems, Updated September 6, 2000,
School Bus Information Council
National - With schools opening around the country, the national School Bus Information Council (SBIC) wants parents to have the latest information about the school bus brake recall that is currently making news.
Parental/Media Advisory
Parents need to know these facts:
- No school bus injuries. The safety defect involves the potential
for a temporary loss of braking in some 300,000 trucks and buses,
including 40,000 school buses. It may occur when the vehicle is traveling
at low speed because of a failure in the antilock brake system (ABS).
Importantly, there have been no reported crashes or injuries involving
the school buses involved in the recall.
- Voluntary recall. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
(NHTSA) was notified of the brake defect and accepted a voluntary
recall plan that was presented by the brake manufacturer. It is
important to note that only buses that have this particular brake
system - less than 10% of the national fleet - are affected.
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- Minimal safety risk. All of the nation's major school bus
manufacturers - AmTran, Blue Bird, and Thomas Built - are working
diligently with school transportation providers to implement the recall
and perform safety checks. NHTSA is monitoring this process closely.
- Buses are still extremely safe. School buses in the U.S.
travel 4.3 billion miles each year carrying 24 million children...almost
always without incident. An average of 10 children are killed each
year in school buses, and most of these tragedies involve very severe
crash circumstances. In contrast, 600 school-age children are killed
each year during normal school transportation hours while riding in
a passenger vehicle other than a school bus.
- Information for parents. Last week, independent school bus
safety expert Dr. Cal LeMon issued his annual Report Card on School
Bus Safety© - a state-by-state "bible" of
pupil transportation information and a valuable resource for parents.
LeMon says it is 87 times safer for a child to take a school bus than
riding with parents or friends, or walking/bicycling to school. He
argues that we increase the risks to children by unnecessarily taking
them out of school buses and letting them get to and from school by
a less safe mode of transportation.
South Carolina's Post & Courier investigates public education
In September 1999 The Post and Courier newspaper began a year-long, intensive look at primary and secondary education in South Carolina.
"We plan to probe the reasons that our public education system is at the bottom in national rankings, to analyze the proposed solutions and to determine whether there are realistic remedies not yet being considered in this state," said Barbara Williams, Editor, back in September.
Williams said one of their greatest resources will be the readers. She hopes to hear from South Carolinians in writing and in person as the paper travels the state trying to find answers to South Carolina's most serious and most complicated problems," Williams said.
Click Here to visit the accumulating stories, "S.C. Schools, The Learning Crisis"
Creator Duncan Wells
The Love & Safety Club
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In-Class Safety Education Program
The Nova Scotia Children's Music & Story Production Company is offering elementary schools an innovative child safety program to help connect kids with the need to develop basic safety awareness.
Duncan Wells, creator of The Love & Safety Club In-Class Safety Education Program said, "The program is designed so teachers can have the freedom to offer creative input to the program themselves."
The Love & Safety Club is different from other safety education programs due to the fact that it uses music and a child's natural ability to commit fun words to memory in order to reinforce those basic safety skills that are important to children on a day to day basis. This program is effective, entertaining and, best of all, fun for both teachers and students, Wells said.
In order to properly conduct this fun and effective safety education program in your school a copy of the Love & Safety Club music CD or cassette recording is needed, along with enough membership cards for each child in your class. The first time purchase of these materials means, with proper care, you will never have to purchase it again. The only continued cost will be purchasing inexpensive membership cards.
For more information about the program and how to purchase The Love & Safety Club In-Class Safety Education Program Package write: Duncan Wells, The Love & Safety Club, 291 Champlain Avenue, Sydney, Cape Breton Island Nova Scotia, Canada B1P 6P9, or Click Here to visit the Love & Safety Club Web Site.
NOTE: 2safeschools does not charge producers to review and present selected and innovative safety programs. Producers of childerns' safety or bus driver training programs who would like 2safeschools to review and present your program to our membership please E-Mail 2safeschools for submission information - Subject: Safety Product.
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Click here for dozens of stories on the Columbine High School massacre in Littleton, Colorado.
