Accident protocol

What is supposed to happen when there is any kind of vehicle incident involving the school bus with students on board?

• The protocol is: in case of an accident or breakdown, the Driver immediately notifies the Dispatcher with the Location, Bus#, Route#, and how many Students on board (and if it was an Accident, is an Ambulance needed).

• The Dispatcher then notifies the Office of Pupil Transportation with all of the information..and between both the Bus Company AND OPT they notify the School/s...the Matrons are NOT required to notify the Parents...but "some" will out of courtesy.

• The driver is mandated to report even a minor accident. This means often everyone has to wait until all of the communication is complete before the bus can move again. This can include having first responders check out the situation and verify that nobody needs to go to the ER.

• Failure to report an accident can lead to the driver being suspended. And it leaves the parents and school staff unaware that they should look out for physical symptoms in the students later.

• Experienced parents recommend that you have your child seen by the school nurse or family doctor either way and monitor for symptoms of concussion later on.

• On a morning route, if the bus was only dropping off students at one school, the matron could speak with a school aide or someone to have them inform the nurse and so forth. But with many OPT routes, the bus is usually in a rush to several schools -- and if it's a general ed route, there is no matron to step out and connect with someone.

• This is another reason to fight for dedicated routes, one campus per bus and to allow school bus workers to enter the school as needed to update principals.