Pushing for Safer School Buses
In light of two recent school bus tragedies, State Senator Mike Foley of Lincoln, Neb., is working tirelessly to ensure that the state’s school buses ...
In light of two recent school bus tragedies, State Senator Mike Foley of Lincoln, Neb., is working tirelessly to ensure that the state’s school buses are operating with every possible safety precaution in place. To accomplish this, he plans to propose legislation allowing for more thorough school bus safety inspections. Foley discussed the significance of this issue with SBF PLUS. SBF Plus: What made you decide that changes are needed in the state school bus inspection policy? Foley: Here in Nebraska, we had a dual inspection process in which the local school district was the primary inspector and then the state patrol came in once a year and performed a reinspection. There was feeling among members of the legislature that this wasn’t a worthwhile use of the state patrol’s time and resources and that it should be focusing its energy on fighting crime. However, looking through research reports from the state patrol on buses that had already been inspected by local districts, I found that there were gross violations of safety rules such as emergency doors padlocked, bald tires, leaking exhaust systems, missing emergency kits, empty fire extinguishers, stop arms missing, lights that didn’t work, etc. These buses had passed local inspections and the state patrol was finding errors of this magnitude. Despite my arguments, a bill was passed taking the state patrol out of the picture and leaving the inspections entirely up to the local school districts. We have hundreds of small school districts in Nebraska where the mechanic working on the brakes is the same guy who is inspecting them. That is not an independent inspection, that is a prescription for disaster. SBF Plus: What kind of changes are you proposing? Foley: We have had two very serious school bus accidents just this year in Nebraska, one of which involved loss of life. I think the schoolchildren in our state deserve better than this. We need to have an overhaul of the inspection process that will result in a true, independent inspection of each and every school bus before it gets put into service. SBF Plus: What is your plan for making the necessary changes? Foley: We are going back into legislative session this month, and it’s very likely that I will introduce a bill that will require the implementation of an independent inspection process. One thought is to have the districts pool together their resources and hire a third-party inspector to work on a cluster of school districts and then present a report to the state for review. SBF Plus: What is the resistance to more efficient inspections and why does it exist? Foley: The whole issue revolves around tight state budgets and using resources as efficiently as possible. The legislature felt that inspecting school buses was a low priority for the state patrol. I don’t think enough time was ever spent on looking at what would be left of the inspection program if you took the state patrol out of the reinspection process.
More Safety

Illegal School Bus Passing Drops 24% in New York Districts
With fewer than 5% of citations involving repeat offenders, Westchester County officials said enforcement, education, and community partnerships are helping change driver behavior.
Read More →
School's Back. Here's What Happened to Traffic, Speeding & Distraction
What happens to traffic when school resumes? New data analysis examines changes in distracted driving, congestion, and speeding around schools.
Read More →
Geotab Expands Fleet Safety Tools With Video Coaching, Risk Insights
New safety and video capabilities aim to help fleet managers assess risk, support drivers, and take targeted action through video coaching, red-light violation detection, and more.
Read More →
How to Build a Better School Bus Driver Training Program
Is it time to strengthen your driver training? Here’s how to pick the right talent and improve recruitment, retention, and safety. This video is brought to you by IC Bus.
Read More →
Recent School Bus Accidents Leave 2 Dead, 2 Injured
Four school bus crashes in Florida, Illinois, and Georgia highlight risks in transportation lots, at bus stops, and during student loading and unloading.
Read More →
When Every Second Matters, Clarity Keeps Routes Moving
From routine delays to urgent incidents, strong communication practices help drivers, dispatchers, schools, and families respond with confidence.
Read More →
What Happens When a School Bus Catches Fire — and What Can Help
School bus fires are rare but can be devastating. Learn how advances in fire suppression and asset protection help fleets detect fires earlier, reduce damage, and improve safety.
Read More →
Geotab Launches Tool to Help Fleets Investigate Road Incidents
Geotab Investigations combines telematics data, video, documents, and other evidence to help fleets reconstruct incidents, resolve claims, and determine what happened.
Read More →
Texas Sixth Grader Wins 2026 National School Bus Safety Poster Contest
Sai Darshana Yekolu of Moseley Middle School in Prosper, Texas, was named the newest winner for her artwork, bringing the theme of “Safe Rides, Everyday Heroes” to life.
Read More →
Doing More With Less: How Transportation Directors Can Prioritize Safety Amid Budget Uncertainty
With diesel prices soaring and nearly one-third of transportation directors expecting budget cuts, maintaining student safety has never been more challenging. Download this guide to learn how leading districts are prioritizing risk, funding critical safety technology, and building stronger budget cases with data.
Read More →

