Bus safety depends on motorists

      School is back in session, going full speed ahead, and so are Clark County district's big yellow buses.
      Although considered the safest form of ground transportation with a fatality rate of 0.01 per billion passenger miles, as reported by the National Safety Council, Lleeann Love, assistant director of Clark County School District's Transportation Division, said motorists need to be particularly aware of buses that are loading or unloading pupils.
      According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, each year 25 to 30 pupils are fatally injured in school bus accidents in the United States. However, most of the fatalities take place outside the bus when children are struck by their own school bus or a passing motorist. The Clark County District has been fortunate to avoid these statistics, with no fatalities, according to Love. Most of the accidents that have occurred are fender benders involving motorists, she added.
      "If someone runs our lights, we can take their license and turn that into the state," she said. "People don't realize every stop arm that is out, there is a child there -- one to 80. If you run that, what about that little child who is maybe crossing. It's so unsafe. People need to realize stop arms are there for a reason."
      Love recommends parents of younger children stay with them until they are boarded on the bus.
      Officer Steve Meriweather of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said fines for those who run the temporary stop signs are $95 if the infraction takes place in the county. City fines vary, he said.
      "There are times that people don't pay attention when the stop signs come out," he said. "(Drivers) in both directions need to stop."
      The district operates 824 bus routes on a $36 million per year budget, carrying up to 72,865 eligible pupils. Eligible pupils constitute those who live at least two miles away from school. Elementary pupils who must cross a hazardous area, including construction zones or major intersections without a crossing guard, also are considered eligible. Love said that having a crossing guard at major intersections can eliminate the need for two or three buses going to a school.
      Love is hoping to assure parents that the buses are safe and manned by qualified drivers. She said drivers, who must pass state tests each year, are required to do an 18-minute pre-trip inspection of their bus every morning, checking for safety concerns, damage or mechanical failures. They also do a six-minute walk-around in the afternoon before taking the bus out again.
      Under federal standard School Bus Passenger Seating and Crash Protection guidelines, large school buses built after 1977 are required to have occupant protection through a concept called compartmentalization, which consists of well-padded, well-anchored, high-backed, evenly-spaced seats. Presently, seat belts in large school buses are required by law only in New Jersey and New York. Additionally, 51 school districts in 13 other states mandate seat belts in large school buses.