Safety & Training

Studies on the safety of school transportation have concluded that school buses provide the safest transportation on the Nation’s roads. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration concluded:

“American students are nearly eight times safer riding in a school bus than with their own parents in cars. The fatality rate for school buses is only 0.2 fatalities per 100 million vehicles miles traveled (VMT) compared to 1.5 fatalities per million VMT for cars.”

(schoolbusinfo.org)

Our approach to safety is multi layered. We invest in training, technology and equipment to ensure that we exceed industry standards. Our Safety and Training Department is staffed with dedicated professionals who manage the licensing and training of our drivers and monitors. This centralized function helps to ensure that all our employees remain current and in compliance with all contractual and legal requirements. We were one of the first transportation contractors in New England to create and make mandatory monthly safety training meetings for 7D drivers. The program has been so successful that we frequently schedule guest speakers and Registry officials to speak on a wide range of topics, from safety issues to behavioral training.

All drivers are licensed. Van drivers must have held a valid drivers license for 3 years before eligible to upgrade to a 7D license. A driver must have a CDL license and a DPU-issued school bus license to operate any size yellow school bus. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts requires annual physicals, driving record reviews and a criminal background check each year for license renewals. In addition, we require that all employees transporting children be subject to random drug and alcohol testing.

Drivers:

  • All candidates must pass a criminal background check, reference check, drug screening, fingerprinting and a personal interview before even being considered for training.
  • Our rigorous training programs meet or exceed both state and federal mandates for school bus driver training to ensure that each driver is the best trained and best qualified candidate possible.
  • We also mandate annual driving reviews for all drivers.

 

We maintain an outstanding safety record among public and private transportation providers. Each year, we strive to improve on our exemplary record.