Michigan State Police (MSP) vehicle safety inspectors recently completed their annual safety inspections of all public and private school bus fleets in the state, with 85% of buses passing the initial inspection.

Vehicle safety inspectors completed 15,987 inspections during the 2014-15 school year, as well as an additional 730 re-inspections of buses that failed the initial inspection, officials said. A comprehensive listing of inspection results for school districts operating pupil transportation vehicles can be found at www.mischoolbus.michigan.gov.

This is the first year inspectors have used the Automated School Bus Inspection application to document inspection results. This system helps to identify violation trends, which allows transportation providers the ability to adjust preventive maintenance procedures to increase overall safety.

Also new this year, parents can now access individual school bus inspection results by scanning the QR code sticker located on the service door of each pupil transportation vehicle.

“The Automated School Bus Inspection application has dramatically increased our efficiency and gives us the ability to accurately identify, track and correct safety concerns,” said Capt. Michael Krumm, commander of the MSP Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Division. “This program puts Michigan in the forefront of school bus safety and ensures the vehicles that transport our most precious cargo are safe.”

A certificate of excellence will be presented to those districts whose fleet achieved a 100% pass rate, as well as those districts whose fleet achieved a 95% to 99% pass rate.
Buses that do not pass the initial annual inspection receive either a yellow or red tag. Yellow-tagged buses may continue to operate as long as the identified defect(s) is repaired within 60 days. A red-tagged bus cannot be used for pupil transportation until it is repaired.

The Pupil Transportation Act (Public Act 187 of 1990) mandates the MSP annually inspect each pupil transportation vehicle in Michigan.