In July and August, the Kansas Highway Patrol (KHP) troopers, in conjunction with school districts across the state, have been conducting the agency’s annual inspections of all school buses to ensure they are all in good working order.

Troopers are checking the mechanical conditions of the buses as they visit each school district until the beginning of the school session, and are making sure the vehicles will load, transport, and unload students safely.

Buses and other vehicles throughout the state are also inspected for compliance with safety regulations. Some of the items troopers are checking are the lights, emergency exits, tires, windshield wipers, fire extinguishers, first aid kits and emergency spill kits.

“Our children are our future. We owe it to the family members, and their children alike, to make sure these kids arrive to and from their destinations safely,” said Lieutenant Adam Winters, KHP public information officer. “By partnering with these school districts across Kansas, we can assure that we are taking the proper steps to keep our children safe.”

Additionally, the inspection stickers have been updated last year, as was a joint effort between the Kansas Highway Patrol and the Kansas State Department of Education. For any bus or school vehicle passing inspection from June 1, 2015 through May 31, 2016, a red sticker will be displayed in the lower driver’s side corner of the windshield. Vehicles that do not comply with safety regulations cannot be used to transport students until all defects are corrected and a trooper rechecks the vehicle.

In 2014, the KHP inspected 10,779 buses and other school vehicles for defects. Since 2010, the patrol has inspected 52,035 school buses.