To shed some light on the personalities that make up the National Association for Pupil Transportation board of directors, the association has launched a series of board member profiles. Here, we hear from Barry Sudduth.

Periodically in our national life, safety, security or both are compromised in ways that are profoundly impactful. These are the game-changers that invoke a shared emotional call to “do something.” The tragedy in Newtown, Conn., was such an event. After the passionate debate about school security options, a “new normal” will eventually emerge, because the status quo is no longer acceptable.

The public expectation of outstanding performance is now carved in stone based on decades of our industry doing just that. So, trying to get reporters interested in still another story about our safety record is challenging to say the least.

A key development in the school bus world last year was the heightened level of contact between the U.S. industry and those involved in pupil transportation in foreign nations. Perhaps most notable among those connections was in Dubai, whose Roads and Transport Authority tapped the expertise of our National Association for Pupil Transportation to promote school bus safety in the Emirate and beyond.

Here are details on some of the new offerings from industry suppliers that were on view and announced during the two-day show in Memphis, Tenn. They include wheelchair lifts, a bus air-conditioning line and an integrated vehicle tracking and routing system.

Over the years, the National Transportation Safety Board has become the gold standard for safety recommendations that should be taken to heart, and the agency’s vice chairman, Christopher Hart, is among its best keepers of the flame. There was much to be learned from his excellent presentation at the NAPT Summit in Memphis, Tenn., in October.

Two months after becoming president of NAPT, Alex Robinson began running the largest school district transportation department in the nation in December 2011. Since then, her staff at the NYC Office of Pupil Transportation has undergone more than 40 hours of training, and NAPT has grown its connections to relevant organizations around the globe.

The director of transportation and fleet service at Colorado’s Adams 12 Five Star Schools has orchestrated adjustments to school bell times to make busing more efficient, for an overall savings of $900,000. He has also set up mechanic apprenticeship programs to help young people enter the field.

A session at the NAPT Summit addresses ways that managers contribute to distracted driving, while a keynote presentation covers fatal school bus accidents caused by inattentive drivers. Handling problematic student behavior is the focus of a panel discussion and a joint presentation. At the trade show, Blue Bird unveils its redesigned Type D buses.

NAPT is going to be very involved in making policymakers at all levels of government aware of the vexing problems created when school bus service is threatened by cuts (in dollars or routes) or eliminated.