American Traffic Solutions releases school zone safety report

How to Help Eliminate Dangers of Traveling to and from School (and Keep Kids Safe) presents the dangers children face getting to and from school, and details some of the successes schools and cities are having with new solutions to change driver behavior and enhance student safety, company officials said.

PHOTOS: Back to school safety drill for bus drivers

NHTSA official blogs on son’s first school bus ride

David Friedman, acting administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, describes feeling “powerless” as his son stepped aboard a yellow bus for the first time. But, Friedman writes, he had checked the numbers: “School buses are the safest way to get to school, even safer than in the family car.”

District changes safety policies for special-needs students after driver arrest

Canyons School District in Sandy, Utah, will no longer allow bus drivers to buckle and unbuckle seat belts and restraints after a former bus driver was charged with allegedly molesting two special-needs students. The district will also randomly select buses and review security video daily, as opposed to only when concerns are raised.

First Student, Mile Square Transportation partner to serve New York districts

The companies form a joint venture to provide student transportation services in the Hudson Valley, Westchester and Bronx areas in New York under the name First Mile Square LLC. The new venture will build on Mile Square’s customer relationships, existing fleet and staff and First Student’s safety practices, training programs and scalable resource model.

Arkansas launches school bus safety campaign

The statewide effort aims to inform motorists of the importance of stopping for stopped school buses. Arkansas state pupil transportation director Mike Simmons and Kimberly Friedman of the state Department of Education have been making media appearances to promote the campaign, dubbed B.U.S.

STI unveils safety app

SchoolWheels SafeStop allows parents, students and schools to securely pinpoint the location of a vehicle on its route to and from school. The app updates in real time with stop/arrival information and includes notifications of when a student has boarded or exited the bus, according to the company.

District’s back to school safety drills engage, inspire drivers

Activities styled on the television reality show “The Amazing Race” and a court trial got school bus drivers for J.O. Combs Unified School District #44 in San Tan Valley, Arizona, thinking about the theme for the new school year, “Safety by Choice, Not by Chance.”

Survey gauges school administrators on bus safety, bullying

In a national survey on K-12 school safety conducted by SchoolReach, only 15% of top school administrators ranked their districts as highly prepared to handle school bus safety incidents. Also, survey respondents ranked the school bus as one of the top four sites where students are reporting bullying.

MSBOA offers school bus child-check safety kit

The Minnesota School Bus Operators Association develops a training tool to remind drivers to check their bus for sleeping children. The kit includes nine posters with slogans like “Children Need Protection! Do Your Post-Trip Inspection.”