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School bus inspections prompt conversation about stop arm violation ‘epidemic’

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — School districts across central Indiana are conducting state mandated bus inspections in preparation for the start of a new semester.

Indiana State Police (ISP) spent hours Monday morning inspecting 19 new Hamilton Southeastern school buses at the district’s Transportation Services headquarters in Fishers.

More than 300 buses were parked at the lot, including 16 vehicles more than 12 years old that require semi-annual inspections, according to Sgt. Chris Kath, the ISP School Bus Safety Coordinator.

“We’re looking at everything that you can see, feel or touch on the bus,” he said of the standard bus inspection process. “We are looking for anything that we deem a safety critical violation that’s going to pose a danger to the students.”

Flat tires and brake-related issues could be considered critical violations that render a vehicle unsafe for school use, Kath explained.

A bus with “minor issues” can still be used to transport students if addressed and corrected within 30 days.

Indiana’s school bus inspection standards and procedures remain unchanged from last year, according to ISP.

Inspection results for buses used to transport students to both public and private schools in Indiana have been published online since July 2013.

The move to increase transparency and accessibility to safety-related public records was made possible by members of the ISP Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Division who developed a public access portal website to view bus inspection records in collaboration with the Indiana Office of Technology and other partners.

The website can be reached here and automatically updates records within days of new inspections.

However, a comprehensive approach to promoting student safety involves more than merely maintaining safe buses, said Jim White, Director of Transportation at Hamilton Southeastern Schools.

“There are people who just don’t want to take time to stop for a school bus,” he said, shaking his head. “It’s become a national problem but it’s almost epidemic here.”

Kath agreed, saying school bus stop arm violations can put children in dangerous and potentially deadly situations.

More than 96,000 school bus drivers in 33 states across the country participated in a one-day survey conducted by the National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation Services (NASDPTS) to tally the number of times motorists illegally passed their stopped buses. The results of the 2016 study show bus drivers counted more than 74,000 vehicles that had illegally passed their buses in a single day.

“What we really want to [remind] motorists is… pay attention to the stop arm and actually stop for the school bus,” said Kath.

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