Changes to administrative procedures regarding inclement weather, school bus drills, unsafe road conditions and bus accidents were among the recommendations in Aspen View Public School Division’s third-party transportation review.
Conducted by Kosabeck Consulting and presented to trustees Dec. 20, the review came after a gravel truck hit an Aspen View school bus in Thorhild County on March 7, killing Thorhild School student Maisie Watkinson.
In an interview, board chair Dennis MacNeil said the review was set to happen anyway and former Supt. Mark Francis had been looking into it. Trustees unanimously voted in favour of the review March 15.
“After the accident occurred, it became more urgent,” MacNeil said.
Strobe lights
MacNeil said he thought one of the most important points in the report was regarding strobe lights on the backs of buses.
Some of the buses used by Aspen View have rear foil fins, which MacNeil said block the strobe lights.
The review states that “regardless of other equipment mounted on the bus, the strobe light must be visible from all sides of the bus and if some object obstructs the view of the strobe light then the location and/or height of the strobe light needs to be adjusted.”
“Because of where the fins are located, the strobe lights on the buses are not visible from the rear,” he said. “There are a couple of options there. One is to actually cut the middle section out of the fins, or else just raise the strobe lights a little higher ... That is being addressed.”
At the Dec. 21 board meeting, trustee Nancy Sand moved that they direct the transportation department to investigate the strobe light alternatives and provide a detailed recommendation. The motion passed unanimously.
MacNeil said he did not know how many buses are currently on the road with this issue, but he does believe there are some.
“But the motion is now in place, and we’re expecting that our transportation department will act upon that,” he said.
He also said the intent of the fin is to blow snow off the back windows. He added the primary objective is to make the buses as safe as possible.
“We don’t want to take those fins off completely,” he said.
“There are some buses already that have the middle section of the fin cut out.”
When asked if this issue could have played a factor in the crash in Thorhild County, MacNeil said he had not read the RCMP report, but did not believe it would have been an issue.
“We do know that (truck) driver was charged,” he said. “So I don’t think it had anything to do with the strobe lights, the fins. It had to do strictly with the driving abilities of the truck driver that hit the bus, from my understanding.”
He added that everything, from Aspen View’s perspective, was done correctly.
“To say whether that was a contributing factor to this accident — that would be a long shot,” he said.
“I wouldn’t even suggest that this is a possibility at this point.”
Accident procedure
The review states that, “In discussion with (transportation co-ordinator) Rhonda Alix there is not currently a formal written procedure” in the case of a school bus accident.
It also states that, “This is a common procedure for many school districts” to have in place.
MacNeil said this item would have been pushed to the policy and procedure committee.
“I think the procedures for accidents, whether it’s a bus or a private vehicle, is basically the same — there are provincial standards,” he said, noting for example that drivers have to conduct evacuation drills.
“They have to follow the requirements of the provincial regulations regarding any accident reporting,” he said. “They have to meet the requirements of our insurance provider, as well.”
Inclement weather
Inclement weather issues came up in the review, as well.
It notes that Parkland School Division adds examples to their statement of extreme weather, like “extreme temperatures, fog, freezing rain or other adverse road conditions.”
The review also notes that Pembina Hills Public Schools qualifies that drivers “shall not stop when visibility is less than 300 metres on roads with a speed limit of 100 km/h,” nor when “visibility is less than 100 metres on roads with a speed limit of 80 km/h or less.”
Pembina Hills procedure also states that “bus drivers shall not cross any lanes of traffic in reduced visibility when it cannot be done safely.”
MacNeil said this issue would be brought forward with the rest of the administrative procedures. He also said the issue of drivers making the call whether to run in inclement weather is also important.
“They need to have that autonomy, and I think we want to make sure that the language in our policies reflects that so it’s clear,” he said. “We never want to have our drivers out in unsafe conditions ... It’s critical. And it’s just understanding the language so they know that that’s the case.”
Radar guns
Aspen View communications officer Ross Hunter said a Thorhild community member donated a case of radar guns to the school division soon after the collision.
The consultant conducting the review looked into bus drivers potentially using them, but the radar guns did not work for the drivers’ purposes.
“I would not comfortably recommend this practice,” the review states.
Board vice-chair Candy Nikipelo made a motion that trustees direct administration to send a letter to the donor thanking him, but based on the recommendation of the consultant they will not be used. The motion passed.
Administrative procedures
MacNeil also said he thinks the review is significant in making sure the language in the administrative procedures is correct.
The review suggests wording changes such as defining what a “volunteer driver” is, specifying contract bus driver obligations and changing “pre-trip” to “daily trip” inspections.
It also suggests additional procedures should be reviewed and drafted regarding driver certification for school-based buses, school owned buses, selection and evaluation criteria for prospective busing contractors and driver abstracts.
Hunter said administrative procedures do not have to pass the board, but they will be brought back to trustees to be accepted as information after they are drawn up by the transportation committee.
“The recommendations from the consultant deal largely with changes and updates to both policy and administrative procedure,” he said. “The policy involved is Policy 18, which regards to student transportation. With policies, that will go to the policy committee ... The administrative procedures do not require board approval, however it is our practice to keep the board informed and include them in discussion regarding the amendments and drafting of new APs.”
Hunter said drafting new administrative procedures will take some time, and they will be implemented after they are brought to the board.
“We’re looking at a relatively significant period of time to draft and implement these, but I would anticipate that should be taking place over next couple of months,” he said.
Trustee April Bauer moved that the board refer the recommendation for the policy update to the policy committee for review and it passed unanimously.
Questions for Aspen View’s administration, including the cost of the review, were directed to secretary treasurer Amber Oko, who was not available before publication deadline.
