It's Time To Talk About School Bus Safety
SB 1072, commonly called the "Paul Lee School Bus Safety Law", went into effect at the start of 2017. The bill was drafted in response to the 2015 tragic death of 19-year-old Hun Joon "Paul" Lee. Paul Lee was a student with severe autism, who died after being locked inside a parked school bus.
The law states that all school buses, car motor vehicles, and youth buses must be outfitted with special alert systems. An audible alarm starts when the required technology generates an audible alarm when the ignition is turned off. The driver must walk to the rear of the bus to turn off the alarm. This ensures they will detect remaining children on the bus. While this is a good start, I'd like to see other states follow California's lead.
The Helping Overcome Trauma for Children Alone in Rear Seats Act (HOT CARS Act of 2016, H.R. 6041) would require similar technology in passenger vehicles. The act would require passenger vehicles to be equipped with technology to alert the driver that a passenger, most likely a child, remains in the rear seat.
Last year Rear View Safety introduced The Brilliant Backseat Reminder System, a unique system to remind drivers to take children, pets, or valuables out of the backseat of the car.
School Bus Safety Hearing
Yesterday three congressman from Tennessee and Maryland requested a hearing on school bus safety. The letter is a response to recent school bus crashes in the respective states.
U.S. Reps. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), John “Jimmy” Duncan Jr. (R-Tenn.), and Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.) sent the letter to Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.), and Reps. Bill Shuster (R-Pa.) and the ranking member and chairman of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.
“Despite a decent safety record, accidents still happen and they jeopardize the lives of our students,” Cummings, Duncan, and Cohen wrote in the letter. “Recent fatal school bus crashes in Maryland and Tennessee have raised urgent questions about the oversight of commercial school bus operators, including the adequacy of current procedures for assessing drivers’ medical fitness for duty and the safety history of companies that operate school buses.”
In addition Rep. Cohen introduced a bill to create federal grants for school buses to receive safety equipment including lap-shoulder belts. As a result of the recent crashes other states, including Washington and my home state of Kansas, have introduced bills that could require school buses to have seat belts.
The National Association of Pupil Transportation (NAPT) pledged to help the legislators on potential improvements. They also noted that school buses are 50 times safer than riding in a passenger car.
In conclusion I'm happy to see lawmakers talking about school bus safety. Unfortunately, many of these bills have been drafted because of tragedies. These potential laws and dialogues will prevent future tragedies while also educating the public on the problem.
