PHOENIX (AZFamily) — School buses are how many Arizona kids get to school each day but how safe are they?
Arizona’s Family Investigates went through the database of all crashes in the state involving these vehicles and found a concerning trend.
According to the Department of Public Safety numbers, there’s been an increase in school bus-related accidents/incidents and the number of injuries associated with them has also gone up.
“We’re all about ready to go,” Brannon Brown, a school bus driver with Arlington Elementary, said.
It’s his fourth year driving a bus for the small district west of Buckeye.
“Our congestion out here is a baler or hay rig,” Brown explained.
Brown said drivers don’t stop when they see his stop arm.
“They see it, they don’t care. They go right through you,” he continued.
Wanda Brist knows that all too well. She’s been a bus driver with Alhambra Elementary School District, a much larger district in west Phoenix, for more than three decades.
“They want to beat the bus. No one wants to be behind the bus,” Brist said.
There is a lot more traffic in her neighborhoods and a lot more kids on her bus compared to Arlington Elementary.
Arizona’s Family Investigates rode along with Brown and Brist to see what it’s really like for drivers.
“My important thing is to get them to and from school safely,” Brist said.
But data suggests that may be getting harder.
The Department of Public Safety tracks the numbers. Between 2021 and April of this year, there have been more than 1,400 accidents and incidents statewide involving school buses.
The numbers have been steadily increasing each year. The number of those injured in these crashes has also increased. Forty-three people were hurt in 2023 alone.
“Yes, it is very concerning. Because of the way these people be driving out here,” Ruth McGurder, a grandparent said.
“It’s definitely something we need to make sure that our kids are safe,” Marshal Plummer, a father, said.
DPS tracks the data, so Arizona’s Family Investigates went to them to get their perspective on what’s behind the rise.
“I think it’s not so much that crashes are increasing significantly as more they’re actually getting reported better,” DPS Sgt. Will Lunt said.
Sgt. Lunt started with the unit that oversees this in 2021. He said that back then, many school districts weren’t reporting minor incidents and accidents.
They’ve worked to change that.
“We’d visit them and explain to them. ‘Hey, this is what needs to be reported,’ and as we did that, we got more compliance with actually getting the stuff reported,” Sgt. Lunt said.
But reporting isn’t enough.
Mashayla Kleinman, the president of the Transportation Administrators of Arizona, the largest student transportation organization in the state, said districts need to take a closer look at each of these crashes.
“Have that post-accident training and find the root of the cause and not just training that one person but training their whole district,” Kleinman said.
She said a bus driver shortage makes this more challenging.
Prior to 2020, she estimates there were 8,600 drivers statewide; that number is now down to 5,600, or 35% fewer.
Much of that she attributes to older drivers retiring, but recruiting new ones has been tough.
“We’re still, you know, struggling. I know districts throughout the state have provided more pay, flexible schedules, stipends, sign on bonuses to kind of entice drivers to come work for them,” Kleinman explained.
Kleinman stresses despite the shortage, the requirements haven’t changed.
“There’s testing involved. There’s a written test, driving test, there’s an obstacle course you have to go through,” she said.
According to DPS, Alhambra school buses have been involved in 14 crashes during the last four years.
Brist said she’s not concerned about bus drivers but those behind the wheel of the vehicles around her.
“We have to always pay attention and have to be alert,” Brist said.
During the ridealong with Brist, there was some unexpected traffic. The kids there made it to school just a few minutes late.
“Expect the unexpected,” Brist said.
Arizona’s Family Investigates asked Sgt. Lunt, based on his experience, what his message would be to parents.
“A school bus is the safest vehicle to transport school children on, period,” he responded.
Arizona’s Family Investigates found the way the information is logged into the DPS system isn’t uniform, which makes identifying trends really hard.
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Publish date : 2024-09-12 01:59:00
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