Throughout our history, when we’ve seen a freight or an Amtrak passenger train making its way along the rails in our communities, we don’t stop and wonder if it’s going to crash or derail. We trust it’s operating safely, and we can ride on it or be near it without worry.
Similarly, when we board a plane (despite our not really understanding aerodynamics), we assume we will take off and land safely. If we didn’t have that trust, we could never get on the plane.
News coverage in recent months about rail safety and airline safety has been unsettling. A quick refresher reminds us of the Norfolk-Southern train derailment (complete with hazardous chemical cargo) near East Palestine, Ohio. At least a half dozen ‘close call’ incidents of commercial planes averting collisions with other planes on runways at our nation’s airports.
Those incidents have, t o one extent or another, shaken our trust in those two modes of transportation; or at least have given us pause for questions.
So, how does that affect our school transportation industry that relies so heavily on parental trust to ensure continued ridership? Our own record of safety is great but never perfect. Similarly, our efforts to keep kids safe and to enhance safety are strong but not perfect. And in our business, perfect (defined as zero defects and zero accidents) really is the mission.
Members may recall that, several years ago, NAPT launched a campaign called “Zip. Zero. Nada. None.” as a means of focusing us all on that zero-defects objective. That message resonated with me as underscoring our prime mission. But it also raised questions of readiness and capacity in the industry to challenge all that we do and to challenge many of the outside forces that affect our work.
Because here’s the rub: we tell parents that they can trust their children with us and our yellow buses. We are morally and ethically obligated to ensure their safety, to put measures in place to enhance that safety and to discipline ourselves to observe and act on things that may compromise that safety.
I am trying to ask us to have a discussion around questions like these: Are we ready to have conversations about examining all that we do to assess whether it’s the most effective means for keeping our kids safe? Can we assess our driver training and determine that it is on point and preparing those men and women for the awesome task they have? Are we willing to include the highest aspirational standards in the elements that are adopted at the upcoming National Congresses on School Transportation in 2025? Are we prepared to deal with our school leadership to question cuts in our budgets at times when increases for training or safety or driver retention might be more advisable? Are we comfortable aligning ourselves as managers with the needs of our drivers to help ensure their retention and highest performance? Are we OK with looking inward to determine if we are working toward our mission or just doing the job? Are we partnering with people who know more than us about children’s needs or mental health or behavioral issues so that we can more effectively manage those issues?
Several years ago, at a New York conference, former PTSI Executive Director Kathy Furneaux spoke pointedly about the need to go beyond mere compliance. She suggested that checking the compliance boxes was not enough and that we needed to find ways not only to prevent bad things from happening, but also to prepare for addressing them when they did. The point, well-taken, is that doing more than is required is critical to keeping our kids truly safe, and that is the ultimate measure.
We can never predict what is going to happen out and about on our nation’s roadways. We can never predict what a child will do on a school bus. But we CAN adopt and adhere strictly to policies and practices to help ensure against mistakes. In the case of an accident that causes harm to a child, parents and the public will want to know that we did everything possible to avoid that harm. Failure to be able to demonstrate our best faith efforts will bring on criticism and negative media attention…our failure to adhere to our own policies makes that all even worse.
We can only expect to continue our tremendous safety record if we adhere to those rules and practices and regimens. When the media visits after an accident, they will have serious question, including:
• Are you sure that all your drivers and aides current on required training programs?
• Are you on top of the task of keeping your driver records current and accurate?
• Do you look for training opportunities to address emerging driver and student concerns?
• Have you observed your drivers doing their pre-trips and post-trips to be sure yourself that they are doing them completely and diligently?
• Is your team involved in conducting daily ‘reasonable suspicion’ observations?
• Have you driven your routes personally to see if any traffic patterns or road conditions have changed or are more dangerous than you thought or than you’ve been told?
• Have you observed your routes and stops for social hazards like drug activity, sex trafficking, or violence along the way?
• Are your buses being maintained to your satisfaction? (e.g., would you want the press to take pictures of the interior and under the hoods of your buses?)
There are more examples, of course, and, in each case, I would argue that we all need to ratchet down on every facet of our operations. When things get to be routine, we can all become complacent. When we have had no accidents, we can all feel that we can rest easier. There is no question that things are difficult with driver shortages and increasing costs and more demand on our buses. But that is the precise moment when we must reach back for that something extra that distinguishes transportation professionals from all the rest. Here’s the rub: if you have an accident or a driver is arrested for driving under the influence, are you ready for when the press shows up with skepticism and a desire to expose any mistakes you have made? Will you be ready to deal with the legal actions centering on how you and your team did your jobs?
Back a number of years, Lenny Bernstein, a former NAPT president and New York Association president, intoned a conference theme of “Leave No Stone Unturned.” The message was clear: we all must all do all we can all the time to ensure the safety of our children. There is no time to rest on the laurels of our great safety record. We cannot rest until we know we have done our absolute best for those children we transport. That theme was on point then and it’s on point now.
Peter Mannella (pfman5@gmail.com) is chair of the NAPT Public Policy Committee.