Over 1,000 districts get free danger zone program

MACEDONIA, Ohio — An offer for a free safety training program for school bus drivers has drawn an enormous response.

As of Wednesday, the Danger Zones program had been shipped to 1,270 school districts across the U.S.

The offer still stands, and Jeff Cassell, vice president of school district operations for the School Bus Safety Co., said that about 25 new requests are still coming in per day.

“Many who have already presented the program to their drivers have called to say how good the program is,” Cassell said.

The School Bus Safety Co. launched the cooperative endeavor last month with the Public School Risk Institute, the National Association for Pupil Transportation (NAPT) and 247Security Inc. to provide the comprehensive training set at no charge to school districts nationwide.

The move was in response to a drastic increase in danger zone fatalities. Seventeen children were killed in school bus loading or unloading accidents in the 2008-09 school year, according to the Kansas State Department of Education’s national survey. The prior year, there were five fatalities — the lowest total on record.

The Danger Zones program, one of many titles in the School Bus Safety Co.’s Driver Training Course, features a 20-minute DVD, a trainer’s guide and a driver handout. It covers all aspects of how drivers should behave to prevent danger zone accidents.

To get a free copy, go to www.schoolbussafetyco.com. For more information, contact Janet Greer at jgreer@schoolbussafetyco.com.