Bus crash raises driver age issue

ABERDEEN, Md. — A July 5 school bus crash on a Maryland expressway that resulted in injuries to dozens of children, four seriously, has raised questions about the minimum age of bus drivers.

The 18-year-old bus driver was transporting nearly 60 day-camp children home to Philadelphia from the National Aquarium in Baltimore when his vehicle apparently was sideswiped by a tractor-trailer rig near Aberdeen.

The bus, operated by Philadelphia-based Yellowbird Bus Co., swerved and flipped before coming to rest on the shoulder. An 8-year-old girl, one of the most seriously injured, had a hand severed in the accident.

At press time, crash investigators said preliminary evidence suggested that the truck driver caused the crash by moving into the right lane from the center lane and clipping the bus.

However, passengers said the bus driver was behaving erratically during the journey to Baltimore and on the return trip to Philadelphia. The driver, who has not been identified by authorities, was reported by passengers to be speeding, driving with one hand on the steering wheel, ignoring requests to lower the volume of the radio and sending text messages with his cell phone.

In addition, the 18-year-old, though perhaps unknowingly, drove the bus across state lines in violation of federal law. Although Pennsylvania’s minimum age for school bus drivers is 18, federal law requires that CDL drivers who travel out of state must be at least 21.

To get an idea of the minimum age of school bus drivers across the country, SCHOOL BUS FLEET conducted an informal poll of state directors of pupil transportation. Eighteen of the 35 states that responded allow 18 year olds to drive a school bus. One state sets its minimum at 19 years, and another requires at least five years of driving experience, which, for practical purposes, puts the minimum age at 20.

Many of the state directors in states that require bus drivers to be at least 21 said they believe that the higher age requirement is sensible.

“A quick look at our rationale is that drivers under the age of 21 have less experience, are generally easier to distract [and] have yet to develop the skills to maintain discipline and the emotional stability to deal with the public,” said one state director.

Behavior management, especially, was mentioned as a concern by some state directors who support the higher age requirement.

“The [18-year-old] school bus operator is closer in age to the high school students he’s transporting. There’s likely to be more of a ‘peer-to-peer’ relationship than an ‘adult-to-student’ one,” said one state director.

The driver shortage creates a dilemma for some state directors who might prefer a minimum age of 21.

“A number of drivers in my state are college-age students. If the minimum age was 21, this would disqualify part of the workforce. If drivers were plentiful, this might not be as big of an issue. The students are still safer in the bus than any other type of vehicle,” she said.

One state director said the presumption that 18-year-old drivers are not as safe as their older counterparts is not accurate.

“I have no data that suggests 18-year-old school bus drivers are involved in a higher number of preventable or non-preventable school bus crashes,” he said. “Barring a catastrophic school bus crash in which the school bus driver’s age is an issue or barring our school bus crash data supporting a change in the minimum age, I don’t see [our state] making any movement in that direction.”

One state director said age is not a valid qualifier for a school bus driver. “I was an 18-year-old driver, and I feel that some 18-year-olds are capable just as some 70-year-olds are. I don’t think someone’s age is how you make that decision.”