Safety: Buses and our children

turn them in....if you have video ..that would be even better.  I would not hesitate to tell their employer what is happening...this is our childrens life they are messing with.

K-Rock, ACSC should have a designated transportation director.  You should approach her/him first.  There are state laws regarding bus safety which must be followed.  If you get no satisfaction from ACSC, then I can suggest a knowledgeable contact who can give you some guidance for following this up at the state level, if you wish. 

I turned them in. In Fact I had many a disappointing conversations (very heated) with the principle of the school (how has not authority in the matter), the police department (who said it wasn't there job to deal with this in any way), Mr Dickerson (who claimed he had nothing to do with it, and may be correct), and Ms Farley (who said she was not aware of any of my previous complaints but did want to see the video).

I told Mr Dickerson, the first admin person to contact me back, that this driver needed to be removed from the route at least until my claims were either proven or disproven. He said he didn't feel that was the proper thing to do but would have Ms Farley look into the situation and even follow the bus in the morning. I told him I would bring him video proof of the incident and he said he wouldn't watch it but Ms Farley would. I informed him it was not in the school systems best interest to allow this driver to drive again because they had at this point ZERO plausible deniability of previous wrong doing. If someone was hurt on that route today I would lead the charge on a class action lawsuit against the school system and they definitely could not afford that. He responded with "I am sure you would be the first in line to make a claim." (or something very close) And he is actually correct about that one.

Ms Farley finally called me back late in the evening. She was dealing with the Events of last evening with the money saving recommendations so I will grant her a little room there. However, when she called, she informed me that she would not be following the bus this morning. I almost went off the deep end then, but she followed it up by informing me they would have a substitute driver on the route and asked me to email her the video.

I sent the video in and received a call this morning from her claiming the video showed the lights were in fact on at the stop and it looked like the stop arm was extended. I told her she was full of crap if that is how she interpreted the video. She asked if I would bring my phone in to look at the original video and also to look at the video they had that I emailed in. I arrived at the Admin building approximately 15 minutes later.

Immediately after introductions, She shows me the video on the computer that I had emailed and points out where she thinks the lights were flashing and the arm was extended. I showed her why she was wrong and they attempted to look at my video on the phone. Again they tried to say the video indicated the lights were flashing properly.

I asked her how many complaints you need, not counting this one, to remove the driver. She said they had received 3 in August and 1 in November and now this one. So I again asked how many times it has to be reported before something is done. I also asked if a child has to be hurt or killed before they are going to do something. She said again the video looks like the lights were on as required. So I suggested we take the bus back to the stop in question and video the bus with and without the lights flashing so they could see the difference.

We did in fact take the bus in question to the stop and video from my phone both with and without lights on. It was painfully obvious that I was correct in my claim at that point. I went home from there and they headed back to the admin office I presume. I do not know what the final outcome will be or has been, but the entire process of trying to assure a safe driver on a bus route has left a very sour taste in my mouth for the abilities of our administrators who are supposed to be looking out for the best interest and safety of our children.

At one point in my discussion with Mr Dickerson I asked him if the driver was driving drunk if that would be enough to remove them from the bus.  He responded that unless it could be proven that a claim of the fact would not be enough. (I am not making such a claim by the way). I asked if I had video evidence if that would be enough and he responded with "No, you calling me and claiming something isn't enough. I don't even know you so why should I take your word for something?" I stated I wouldn't claim something without proof, but even the claim from a stranger that a driver was driving a bus under the influence and video indicating such a claim was factual should be enough to at least temporally suspend a driver. He said that was definitely not accurate.

And we trust this man's judgment in the hiring and firing of our teachers and school personnel? Be afraid, be very afraid.

Bus safety seems to fall by the wayside in many school districts. There are often too few administrators covering too many bases to adequately be able to cover them all, especially in central office. Why? Because it's a 'teachers come first' world.  Administration will be cut to the bone and beyond before the sacred teachers are cut.  Why? It's politics. Administrators are the sacrificial goats. The unions won't allow teachers to be cut unless administration takes a hit, even if administration is seriously understaffed. 

It could be that ACSC doesn't have good transportation coverage.  They are very vulnerable here. You can get them in serious trouble with the state if they don't make serious, transparent and observable (provable) efforts to remedy this situation.

What about calling one of the tv stations or e-mailing them.

Bard is right in his last comment. Unions looking out for teachers. Who looks out for kids?

Call one of the televisions stations, with the child that just got hit in Indianapolis, they have been investigating the problems with the local school bus companies!

Who looks out for the kids?  Parents. They are the court of first AND last resort.  Parents who care make a difference in all aspects of education....in all aspects of the world.

Oddly enough either the two people I talked don't believe me or they think the are not going to have any problems.

I just got off the phone with Ms Farley who told me the driver will no longer be on my son's route. When I asked if this driver will be driving any other routes the response was "I am not going to give you this information, it is a personnel matter."

I do have a call into Pete Baxter, the head of transportation at the state level and hope he can help me get to the bottom of this. Based on the reactions of ACSC administration employees, I fear that this driver has simply been moved to another route.

I asked Ms Farley very directly if this driver would be driving any buses for ACSC and was told ACSC does not employ the driver, the driver is employed by the owner of the bus. So I asked again if I should assume then that this driver is on another route. She said "We have taken corrective action in this case and there will be no further discussion on the matter."

When I asked what corrective action may be taken in such a case, the response was anything from a reprimand to termination.

So much for transparency.  

K-rock, if the bus drivers are not corporation employees, then ACSC contracts with the bus drivers for certain routes. The person taking over your son's route would, by contract, be a person who is employed by the owner of the contract. I don't know whether you can ask for contract information in this case, but it would lead you to the direct employer of this driver.  In any case, the school system itself is legally liable for resolving problems of this nature with its contracted fleet.  If they merely swap drivers, that is not legally addressing the problem and they can face serious consequences.

Bard...I know who the owner of the buses in question are. What I don't know, and the school admins won't tell me, is if this driver was merely moved from one route to another.

In this case, moving the driver from one route to another may well solve my son's problem, but it only creates an unsafe situation for someone else's children and that is not acceptable either.

Not sure how to find out the missing information at this point aside from staking out the parking area of the bus owners and see if the driver in questions gets on or off a bus in the morning. Not sure that is a good idea at all.