Here, we share photos submitted to us by pupil transporters throughout the country that were featured in the Snapshots department of our 2013 Fact Book, our January 2013 issue and our February 2013 issue.
Snapshots — Fall 2012/Winter 2013
Ron Love, state pupil transportation director for Delaware, reports that the state Department of Transportation's variable message signs are used to promote safety at the beginning of the school year. At several locations across Delaware, the signs alternate between "SCHOOL STARTING" and "GIVE KIDS A BRAKE."
Talk about a heavy load! This photo was taken after a snowstorm in which about 10.5 inches fell, and it was “a very wet snow,” according to Dale Honkala, shop foreman at Cloquet Transit Co. in Cloquet, Minn. The snow then froze solid, and the bus’ suspension collapsed from the weight.
As reported by SBF, Tecumseh (Okla.) Public Schools has been working with law enforcement to crack down on illegal school bus passing, which officials say has significantly raised awareness of the issue in the community. Here, Tecumseh Transportation Director Teddy Kidney (left) is pictured with Trey Baker of the Tecumseh Police Department.
This shot of Yosemite National Park was submitted by Dana Fairchild, a school bus driver for the San Joaquin County of Education in Stockton, Calif. Fairchild says fifth-grade students who attend a charter school were shuttled to the park for a field trip.
This photo by Antonio Mlynek, transportation supervisor for special education at Washington Elementary School District #6, was taken in North Mountain Park in Phoenix, which is located in the school district. Mlynek says the mountains in the foreground are known as Stoney Mountain, and the mountains in the background are known as Piestewa Peak. The mountains in the background are named in honor of Army Spc. Lori Ann Piestewa, the first Native American woman to die in combat in the U.S. military, and the first female soldier to be killed in action in the 2003 Iraq War.
This is a 1936 Crown Delux model DE-95 Supercoach. The shot was taken by “Dick” Whittington and submitted by Louk Markham, transportation supervisor at Merced (Calif.) City School District. Markham says the bus has a six-cylinder Hercules JXD engine, a 163.5-inch wheelbase and Budd wheels and is most likely built on a Moreland chassis.
Fall was in full swing when students who attend Blessed Sacrament Huguenot Catholic School in Powhatan, Va., were on a field trip to a pumpkin patch in October. Photo submitted by Courtney Hardy, director of transportation and maintenance.
During an emergency training event in the fall in Lawrence, Mich., a school bus was turned over on the right side, with a wheelchair secured and a life-size mannequin belted in. The event was sponsored by Van Buren Intermediate School District in conjunction with Lawrence Township Emergency Services.
Another component of the event was instruction on the proper use and placement of highway flares — both lighting and extinguishing the device.
Participants also extinguished a practice liquid fire. To view more shots from the event,
which also included a smoke-filled bus, click here.