Special Safety Concerns of the School Bus Industry (2010)

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32 SURVEY FOR THE TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH BOARD SYNTHESIS ON THE SPECIAL SAFETY CONCERNS OF SCHOOL BUS DRIVERS (PROJECT MC-21) Under the sponsorship of the Transportation Research Board, MaineWay Services, along with the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI) and Daecher Consulting is conducting a study focused on the special safety concerns of school bus operations. As a school bus transportation industry professional, your knowledge and opinions are important to this study. This survey, which should take approximately 45 minutes or less to complete, asks you about various school bus safety issues, how they are addressed, and your opinions for how they can be improved. Final total research results will be provided to interested parties and stakehold- ers, but all information provided by you will be kept strictly confidential! The information collected from this survey will not be used for any purposes other than research. If applicable, you may choose to skip any question(s) you are not comfortable answering. Your permission to include your survey data in the study database will be assumed once you complete/return this sur- vey. Final results of this survey will be available through the Transportation Research Board in 2009. APPENDIX C Final Survey Instrument 1. Which of the following best describes your position?  School Bus Driver (specify license below)  Class A CDL  Class B CDL  Class C CDL  No CDL  School Bus Fleet Manager  School Superintendent  State Director of Pupil Transportation Services  State Agency  Position Title:  Other State Agency  Job Title:  Transportation Specialist  Contractor management beyond local operations  Bus Attendant/Monitor  Maintenance Supervisor  Mechanic/Technician  Routing Specialist/Dispatcher  Instructor/Trainer  School Bus Manufacturer  Position Title:  School Bus Special Interest Group  Position Title:  Federal Agency  Position Title:  Transportation Researcher  Position Title:  Other  Position Title:

33 2. How many years of experience do you have in the area of school bus transportation? Years 3. If you work within a school system, approximately how large is the system based on the total number of pupils in the school system and/or number of annual miles traveled? Pupils Number of miles traveled  N/A 4. Please provide the percentages for each type of environment you provide transportation? Urban Rural Suburban 5. Please estimate the number of each class/type of vehicles in your fleet (if applicable)? – Type A—consists of a bus body constructed upon a cutaway front-section vehicle with a left side driver’s door, designed for carrying more than 10 persons. – Type B—consists of a bus body constructed and installed upon a front-section vehicle chassis, or stripped chassis, with a gross vehicle weight rating of more than 10,000 pounds, designed for carrying more than 10 persons. – Type C—also known as a “conventional,” is a body installed upon a flat-back cowl chassis with a gross vehicle weight rating of more than 10,000 pounds, designed for carrying more than 10 persons. The entire engine is in front of the wind- shield and the entrance door is behind the front wheels. – Type D—also known as a transit-style, is a body installed upon a chassis, with the engine mounted in the front, mid- ship, or rear with a gross vehicle weight rating of more than 10,000 pounds, and designed for carrying more than 10 per- sons. The engine may be behind the windshield and beside the driver’s seat; it may be at the rear of the bus, behind the rear wheels; or mid-ship between the front and rear axles. The entrance door is ahead of the front wheels. – Multi-purpose vehicles—passenger vehicles not intended for picking up or discharging students between home and k- 12 school systems. – Type III—standard passenger vehicles such as cars, sport utility vehicles, station wagons, and small vans. – Other: –  N/A 6. Please estimate the number of vehicles in your fleet:  With a Global Position System (GPS)  With an Automatic Vehicle Locator (AVL) OVERALL SAFETY ISSUES Using the scale below, please indicate how much of a safety issue the following have been in your fleet/district. If you are not associated with a school district, please give your opinion of the severity of these issues in school bus operations in general. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Not at All a Safety Issue Very Serious Safety Issue 7. Passengers as pedestrians in the loading/unloading zone 8. Children left on buses 9. Horseplay at bus stops 10. Passengers not immediately leaving loading/unloading area (e.g., going to a mailbox) 11. Illegal passing of stopped buses by other vehicles 12. Railroad crossing issues 13. Tight roads due to trees or overgrowth 14. Blind driveways/intersections 15. Students sticking arms and heads out of windows

34 16. Animal action (e.g., deer or other wildlife) 17. Student passengers standing too close to the road at the bus stop 18. Insufficient or ineffective mirrors on the school bus 19. Inattentive or distracted drivers of other vehicles 20. Driver field-of-view and blind spots (i.e., visibility issues, hood, body posts, mirrors) 21. Weather conditions when school is not delayed/cancelled 22. Roadway conditions (e.g., sunken/soft shoulders, potholes, width of road) 23. Traffic congestion 24. Visibility of bus or students on curved roads 25. Visibility at bus stops in hilly terrain 26. Visibility of bus stops in inclement weather conditions (fog, snow, heavy rain) 27. Lack of an adequate waiting area for passengers at bus stops 28. Lack of adequate lighting at bus stops 29. Lack of sidewalks at or near bus stops 30. Violence/bullying among student passengers 31. Security issues 32. Noise levels on the bus 33. Distractions (to the driver) on the bus 34. Distractions (to the driver) outside the bus 35. Bus stops on major highways 36. Too many student passengers at a single stop 37. Driver physical health 38. Driver mental health 39. Driver safety-belt use 40. Driver fatigue 41. Driver turnover 42. Bus monitor/attendant physical health 43. Bus monitor/attendant mental health

35 44. Bus monitor/attendant safety-belt use 45. Bus monitor/attendant turnover 46. Keeping up with routine school bus maintenance 47. Passenger restraints for: • Regular education passengers • Special needs passengers • Wheelchairs (effectiveness or compliance with tie downs) 48. Student passengers not sitting in their seat properly 49. Students inattention or distraction due to personal electronic devices 50. Storage of passengers’ personal items (e.g., backpacks, instruments) 51. Storage of driver’s items (e.g., purses, clipboards, routing information) 52. Students eating/drinking on the bus 53. Slippery floors/stairwells 54. School bus foot pedal design (accelerator and brake) 55. School bus driver cell phone use 56. Emergency evacuation procedures 57. Rear bumper height (need for a secondary lower flexible bumper to prevent under ride) 58. Lack of sufficient funding for fleet operation/maintenance/equipment 59. Considerations for special needs student passengers 60. What do you consider to be the most important safety issue(s) in school bus transportation (open ended)? 61. What are the barriers to these issue(s) (open ended)? 62. Do you have any recommendations/suggestions for how these issues should be addressed in the future (open ended)? SCHOOL BUS DRIVER SAFETY ISSUES 63. In your opinion, how thorough are your driver screening procedures for your fleet (or in general if you are not involved with a fleet)? 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Not at All Thorough Very Thorough 64. In your opinion, how thorough are your driver criminal background check procedures for your fleet (or in general if you are not involved with a fleet)? 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Not at All Thorough Very Thorough

36 65. In your opinion, how thorough are your substitute driver screening procedures for your fleet (or in general if you are not involved with a fleet)? 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Not at All Thorough Very Thorough 66. In your opinion, how thorough are your substitute driver criminal background check procedures for your fleet (or in general if you are not involved with a fleet)? 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Not at All Thorough Very Thorough 67. In your opinion, how thorough are your driver training procedures for your fleet (or in general if you are not involved with a fleet)? 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Not at All Thorough Very Thorough 68. How many hours of pre-service and in-service hours of training are mandated? Pre-service driver Hours Pre-service monitor/attendant Hours In-service driver Hours In-service monitor/attendant Hours 69. What particular aspect of driver training is the most important in terms of safety (open ended)? 70. What, if any, areas of driver training need to be covered that are currently not part of your training program (open ended)? 71. What are the most common distractions to school bus drivers on the bus (open ended)? 72. What are the most common distractions to school bus drivers outside the bus (open ended)? 73. How can these distractions be minimized (open ended)? 74. How often are physical exams required with your fleet?  Annually  Periodically  If periodically, how often? EQUIPMENT/TECHNOLOGY 75. How can school bus design be improved for safety (open ended)? 76. What technology has improved safety in school bus operations (open ended)? 77. What technology for improving safety would be useful in the future (open ended)? 78. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve driver pre-trip inspections (open ended)? 79. What level of compliance do the drivers in your fleet meet for performing pre-trip inspections?  0%–24%  25%–49%  50%–74%  75%–99%  100%

37 ORGANIZATIONAL DESIGN 80. What can fleet safety managers do to improve the safety of their operations (open ended)? 81. Do you have any suggestions for new federal or state regulations for school buses (open ended)? 82. Are there any current federal or state regulations for school buses you think should be reconsidered (open ended)? SCHOOL BUS SECURITY ISSUES 83. Have you given security awareness training for your drivers (or if you are a driver, have you completed security aware- ness training)? Past 1 Year  Yes  No  N/A Past 3 Years  Yes  No  N/A Past 5 Years  Yes  No  N/A 84. What do you or your school bus drivers do to ensure your/their bus is safe in terms of security (open ended)? 85. Do you have an evacuation plan for your individual special needs passengers?  Yes  No  N/A 86. Do you conduct evacuation drills with special needs passengers?  Yes  No  N/A • If yes, how often? CLOSING 87. Are there any special or unique safety concerns to school bus operations you believe were not addressed in this survey (open ended)? 88. Other comments (open ended): -END- Thank you for participating in this survey. Please email your responses to dwiegand@vtti.vt.edu, fax to 540-231-1555 (ATTN: Doug Wiegand), or mail to: Douglas Wiegand Senior Research Associate Virginia Tech Transportation Institute 3500 Transportation Research Pl Blacksburg, VA 24061