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The Ontario School Bus Association (OSBA) is a non-profit association providing advocacy, education, and legislative consultation services to the owners of school bus fleets, school boards/transportation consortia and supplier/manufacturer companies across Ontario.  
November 13, 2019 - Issue 23

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Inside this Edition:
  1. Coming Soon – OSBA Magazine!
  2. Ontario Reviewing Vehicle Emissions Program for Heavy Vehicles
  3. Latest School Bus Loading/Unloading Survey Results
  4. InterMotive Designs Seat Belt Warning System
  5. Humboldt Broncos Families Head to Alberta Legislature to Fight for Trucking Changes
  6. Thomas Built Buses’ Kilgore Shares ‘Blue Sky’ Vision for Student Transportation
  7. Hamilton School Board to Consider Anti-Bullying Panel at Board Meeting
  8. Order Your OSBA Publications Now!
  9. Upcoming Events
Coming Soon – OSBA Magazine!
 
The OSBA annual magazine “School Bus Ontario” has been mailed to all OSBA members! The digital version will be posted on the OSBA website next week. Interesting, informative articles include:
  • President’s Message from Chris Harwood (OSBA)
  • Messages from Caroline Mulroney, Ontario Minister of Transportation and Stephen Lecce, Ontario Minister of Education
  • 2019 Winner of the OSBA Driver Excellence Recognition Award
  • Did Someone Say Seatbelts?  The Story Continues…
  • Signs, Signs, Everywhere a Sign!
  • The Importance of Employee Assistance Programs and Substance Abuse Professional Services to Ensure Fitness for Work
  • Technologies for Safer School Buses
  • A Lens on Safety:  School Bus Stop Arm Cameras
  • Doug Ford’s Ontario:  One Year In
  • Transporting Children:  What’s More Noble?
  • Recognizing Bullying vs. Conflict
  • And more
Questions or comments about the articles? Please contact OSBA at info@osba.on.ca or 416-695-9965.
Ontario Reviewing Vehicle Emissions Program for Heavy Vehicles
 
For some time now, the government of Ontario has outlined their intentions to change and modernize the emissions program for vehicles operating on our highways. Earlier this year, the government announced the removal of the emission testing requirement for light duty vehicles as some first steps, however changes to the heavy-duty vehicle are still to be finalized.

In September 2018, the government initiated a consultation process regarding the emissions program for heavy duty vehicles with the posting of a notice on the Environmental Registry of Ontario (ERO). Based on the government’s policy objectives and feedback from the 2018 posting, a subsequent posting to the ERO was made on October 9th, 2019 to provide details surrounding the proposed heavy vehicle emissions program. This new proposal is part of the, “Made-in-Ontario Environment Plan”. The main objectives are to tighten emission control standards and testing requirements for heavy diesel commercial motor vehicles, which include school buses. Under the proposal, only heavy diesel commercial motor vehicles will continue to be subject to periodic emissions testing, while all vehicles (light and heavy duty) will be subject to enhanced on-road standards and enforcement of the revised emission standards.

Included in these proposals, however with less confirmed details so far, is the development of an integrated emissions and safety inspection program for heavy duty diesel vehicles, again including school buses.

For more details, refer to the notice EPO 013-3867 here. The proposed draft regulation and related documents posted to the ERO on October 9th can be viewed here.

OSBA will continue to monitor developments and advise members as details become finalized.

For further information, or to provide any comments, please contact the OSBA Safety and Legislation Team at abugeya@osba.on.ca or 416-695-9965 Ext. 4.
Latest School Bus Loading/Unloading Survey Results

Full Article: School Transportation News
Article Date: October 14, 2019


Eight students were reportedly killed in the act of loading or unloading their school bus during the 2018-2019 school year, according to a survey released by the Kansas State Department of Education at the 51st annual National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation Services (NASDPTS) conference.

Many NASDPTS presenters stated at the organization’s national conference, that 2018-2019 was a “terrible year” for student fatalities in the United States. It was especially tragic for Michael LaRocco, NASDPTS President and State Director at the Indiana Department of Education. He recounted the death of four Indiana students within one week last fall. A pickup truck illegally passed a stopped school bus, hit and killed three siblings as they crossed a rural state road en route to their waiting school bus on the morning of Oct. 30. A fourth student crossing with them was also hit and was seriously injured, but he survived.

The National School Bus Loading and Unloading Survey was launched in 1970 to specifically track student safety at school bus stops. The survey found that seven of the eight fatalities recorded by state and local police last school year were attributed to other vehicles hitting the students while they were crossing the roadway to board their school bus. In all but one instance, the school bus had deployed its federally-mandated stop arm and activated its flashing red lights.

The study noted that seven fatalities occurred during the trip to school and four happened while the students were waiting at the bus stop. Three of the fatalities took place in the morning when children were running or walking to their bus, while one fatality occurred when a child was loading at school grounds in the afternoon. Most fatalities were reported for ages 9 and younger, which aligned with the 49-year summary of ages of students who were hit and killed while in the loading and unloading zone that was reported by the Kansas State Department of Education (KSDE). In its 49-year summary, KSDE reported that 73 percent (915) of the total 1,252 fatalities during the past 49 years were age 9 or younger.

A noteworthy aspect for this year is that 75 percent of the fatalities took place in October, one fatality was reported in April and another in September. In most cases, the weather conditions were reported to be clear when the fatalities took place, with 100 percent reported in dry weather-related road conditions.

Six fatalities happened in a rural setting, and four took place on a state highway. Three deaths occurred on country roads and one took place on private property.

While the goal of zero student fatalities remains a goal for student transporters and was a continuous talking point on Monday at the NASDPTS annual conference, student loading and unloading deaths continue to occur. In 2014 and 2015, KSDE reported a record low of four student fatalities for both school years. However, in 2016, the number rose to eight; in 2017 there were six fatalities reported; and in 2018, there were eight reported.
InterMotive Designs Seat Belt Warning System

Full Article: School Bus Fleet
Article Date: October 29, 2019

  
In Auburn (CA), Electronic control systems manufacturer InterMotive Vehicle Controls has developed Safe-T-Seat, a Seat Information Tracking (SIT) system exclusively for Freedman Seating Co. The SIT system displays and tracks the occupancy and belt status of passenger seats and provides audible and visual warnings for the driver, according to a news release from the manufacturer.

“With this exclusive product, Freedman can present a long-desired solution to the seat belt challenge,” said Greg Schafer, President of InterMotive. “Drivers need a way to ensure passengers are really wearing their seat belts.” The system is designed to trigger an alert if an occupant sits but does not buckle their seat belt or buckles it before sitting. The system can also record and store data in case of an accident.

Each seat sensing module communicates wirelessly for up to three seating positions. It allows for an expandable system with up to 90 seats for larger vehicles, according to the manufacturer. An alternate battery power option enables the system to be retrofitted on older vehicles. Plug-and-play connections help simplify installation, according to InterMotive, and a downloadable app lets the user configure the seating layout on the tablet.

The manufacturer created the system on the heels of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s proposed rulemaking proceedings to require belt use warning systems in buses, according to the manufacturer. 

“Safety is our number-one priority," said Craig Freedman, the CEO of Freedman Seating Co. “We’re excited to be able to offer our complete occupant protection system with our partner, InterMotive.” 

Safe-T-Seat will be available for purchase through Freedman Seating Co. in the first quarter of 2020.
Humboldt Broncos Families Head to Alberta Legislature to Fight for Trucking Changes

Full Article: CTV News
Article Date: October 16, 2019


Alberta families affected by the Humboldt Broncos bus crash say they will continue to fight for changes to provincial trucking regulations. Sixteen people were killed and 13 were injured when an inexperienced Calgary truck driver ran a stop sign and barrelled into the path of the junior hockey team's bus in Saskatchewan in April 2018.

Saskatchewan, Alberta and Manitoba implemented mandatory training for truck and bus drivers after the crash. Alberta Transportation Minister Ric McIver has said the United Conservative government is taking another look at rules for school bus drivers and farmers. It's also granted hundreds of exemptions since the party was elected earlier this year.

Four Broncos families joined Alberta NDP Opposition Leader Rachel Notley at a news conference asking the government to reverse those changes. A letter from a fifth family was read. “When we brought in the safety standards, we had support from both sides,” said Notley. “I am very sad that this has become a fight for these families all over again. “We can't undo the Humboldt bus tragedy, but we can work together to prevent another from happening.”

Their families said that any decisions being made should be about safety. “We can't take any more chances with inexperienced and inadequately trained drivers of semi trucks,” said Shauna Nordstrom, the mother of Logan Hunter. “We are flipping the coin for safety. “We ask the government to stop these exemptions.”

Chris Joseph, the father of Jaxon Joseph, said they will continue to fight for improved safety measures for truck drivers. “We won't stop fighting,” he said. “We won't stop, because we know that there are deaths on the road every day and we will fight for them.”

The families later met with McIver. “They expressed that they were not pleased with the exemptions. So we're going to think about that,” McIver told reporters after the meeting. “We haven't made a decision to do anything different yet, but I told them we would think about that and we will. “Safety is our top priority in transportation. It always has and it always will be. That hasn't changed and it won't change now.”

McIver said he has tremendous respect for the Broncos families. “They are good people, they care and all they want is a safer world for people who are the road,” he said. “I agree with them on that. I hope to get advice from them in the future on how to do that.”
Thomas Built Buses’ Kilgore Shares ‘Blue Sky’ Vision for Student Transportation

Full Article: School Transportation News
Article Date: October 29, 2019

  
Leslie Kilgore, who has spent her entire career in the transportation industry, is focusing on making the school buses an integral part of the school day. She views technology as a connecting force in making the school bus a learning environment, a “learning lab.” Kilgore said she is continuously striving to push the boundaries and find new ways that the school bus can become a place to “learn, grow and develop. Maybe the windows are touch screens. Maybe there are unique ways to interact with the bus,” Kilgore shared. “Instead of just a form of transportation, the school bus can become a place to learn, grow and develop. Education, learning, and academics can be a seamless part of the ride to and from school each day on the bus. That’s my blue sky for student transportation.”

Kilgore started in the automotive industry before working in aerospace and now pupil transportation. She joined Thomas Built Buses in 2016, two months after the tragic Chattanooga (TN) school bus crash. She said the experience aligns with her background, and influences her intentions and priorities in school transportation.

Kilgore said she loves working in an industry that is all about the kids. “One of the reasons I transitioned out of the automotive industry was because while the work was fun and meaningful, it was targeted at a subset of the population,” Kilgore said. “I felt like I was working on innovations for a very small niche market.”

Kilgore is constantly monitoring the pulse of the market and how it changes in reaction to regulations and state requirements. “For example, shifts in technology and air quality emissions standards have created an opportunity for electric school buses,” Kilgore said. “Preventable safety issues like stop-arm violations are now creating a renewed focus on advanced safety technologies. We are always looking at what we are doing today and how to adapt current technologies to solve problems in the industry and further increase safety.”

“We don’t use event data recorders on school buses, which are typically more common in the automotive industry,” Kilgore said. “I am proud to be paving a way for new technologies that will someday advance the efficiency and safety of school buses, as they have in other forms of transportation.”

Kilgore noted a surprising fact of the pupil transportation industry regarding its stability. She observed that many people working within the industry, “have a rich heritage of living and breathing school bus yellow. It really is their life’s work. They have committed their entire careers to transport children safely to school each day, [which is] the best experience it can be.” She added that in other industries it could be harder to find a workforce that is so constant, passionate and dedicated.

Kilgore said that by putting a greater emphasis on pupil transportation, districts would be able to incorporate more technologies that ultimately would solve many industry problems. Then there would be stronger integration between education and transportation.

While Kilgore keeps her mind on the safety of children and her goals on incorporating emergency technology into the school bus, she has still faced the challenge of balancing leadership styles with perceptions and beliefs of her peers, industry colleagues and decision-makers. “When you work in a gender-dominant industry, implicit bias often creates unseen hurdles,” Kilgore explained. “You don’t know what your huddles are until you come upon them. As women, I think we are often more sensitive to how others feel about our leadership roles.”

“Women often see issues differently and come up with different solutions because of who we are and the experiences we’ve had,” Kilgore elaborated. “Women tend to think more holistically and provide a more balanced approach as influenced by the various roles we play in the lives of those around us. The industry is ripe for female perspectives, in all areas.”

The bottom line, however, regardless of all the other obstacles and challenges is that those solutions are now possible for many of the issues that the industry faces. “Solutions are possible now. We have the intelligence and technology to make them happen,” Kilgore said.
Hamilton School Board to Consider Anti-Bullying Panel at Board Meeting

Full Article: National Post
Article Date: October 27, 2019

  
A Hamilton (ON) school board will vote on whether to create an anti-bullying panel following the stabbing of a 14-year-old student who was reportedly tormented by bullies in the weeks leading up to his death.

The Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board will decide on the recommendation after hearing public concerns about bullying, said chair Alex Johnstone, who added that the board knows more can be done. “We want to work our community to make our school and our community safer for everyone,” she said. “No one should have to suffer the consequences of bullying in silence.” Johnstone said the panel, which the board will vote on at a meeting, would seek feedback from the community and independent experts in a bid to improve prevention and response to bullying incidents.

Johnstone said there had been previous errors in how the school board reported bullying incidents to the province — though she declined to specify what those errors were — and said part of the panel’s goal would be to improve their reporting process. She urged parents and students to continue to tell schools about bullying when it happens so they can help address the issue.

The motion to establish the panel will be presented by the board’s Director of Education, Manny Figueiredo, who said in a report that the death of Devan Bracci-Selvey earlier in October led to “heightened concern” about bullying in the community. Figueiredo said the anti-bullying forum would report their findings by May next year if it is approved. He added that the panel will look at bullying as a broader issue, rather than focusing on Devan’s death alone. He said a third party will look into the killing at a later date when the police investigation is completed.

Devan was stabbed to death outside of his high school and in front of his mother on Oct. 7. His mother has said her son was badly bullied in the weeks leading up to his death. Two teenagers, aged 14 and 18, have been charged with first-degree murder in his stabbing, and police allege the younger of the two was wielding the knife.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 27, 2019.
Order Your OSBA Publications Now!

Visit the OSBA website at www.osba.on.ca and click on the "STORE" tab from the home page to order the following OSBA publications. Or click on the links below and go directly to each order form:
Once you have completed the necessary order form, please scan/email it to info@osba.on.ca or fax it to 416-695-9977.
 
 
Copyright © 2019 Ontario School Bus Association
All rights reserved.  This publication is intended for the exclusive use of OSBA Members.  Reproduction without prior permission is prohibited.

Contact OSBA:
3075 Lenworth Drive, Mississauga, ON, L4X 2G3
Tel.416.695.9965 Fax 416.695.9977  
info@osba.on.ca | www.osba.on.ca
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Please address all enquiries and submissions to info@osba.on.ca  Opinions expressed do not necessarily express the opinions of the OSBA or its Board of Directors. Nor does acceptance of advertising constitute endorsement.






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