When school bus drivers take the wheel, they also take responsibility for each student on that bus. Drivers are on the frontline of keeping school buses secure and for the custodial chain of command in transporting your child.
Drivers:
- Inspect the bus before and after each trip
- Are responsible for making sure students get on and off safely
- Are the adult in charge of dozens of children and administering student management
Bus drivers need to be alert to suspicious items like daypacks left behind, devices attached to the vehicle and evidence of tampering. They’re also the ones students alert if something’s out of place. If there’s a security threat to their students while on the route, bus drivers are first to respond.
And one of the first questioned if something goes wrong.
“Yes, I inspected that.”
Implementing electronic verified inspection reporting helps ensure drivers inspect each point on the bus. No forgetting, no passing it up, no trying to remember if that part of the bus was inspected or not. And no being wrongly accused of not doing a thorough inspection when electronic records show they did. If it’s not documented, it may as well have not happened.
“No, you’re not allowed on this bus.”
If someone isn’t equipped with the required passive RFID tag, the driver knows then and there that person shouldn’t get on the bus. This gives the driver the power to deny unauthorized entry and potentially prevent an armed assailant from boarding.
Any time of year is good for implementing these technologies into a school’s transportation fleet, but summer is ideal. For many districts, school’s out and there are fewer demands on transit vehicles. It’s also when many maintenance shops are already doing major maintenance and repairs, and buses are already available in the shops for upgrades.
School bus security and safety affects everyone, not just students, parents and schools. It’s impossible to prevent every incident, but these two fleet technologies can help keep students safe while they’re on the bus.
To learn more about what you can do with today’s technology to help keep students safe on the school bus visit: here
