Category: Student Education

Child Dies in Daycar Van

Heat stroke is a killer.  People like to laugh and kid around about heatstroke being a “meh” sickness. It is not “meh,” it is deadly.

Although this is not strictly school bus related it does come in to partial play.  Schools do not always use school buses to transport children to and from school. A good amount of districts will use vans in special education situations. They use them for a multitude of reasons but one being that the students are easier to control in  a van. They can be buckled or harnessed in, there is a much smaller count, and they have less distractions that can be upsetting to certain special needs.

Van’s have many positives but can be just as deadly is not used properly. A school bus can have a “No child left behind system installed”.  Most of the buses these days do. Vans have no such system as of yet. They have to be checked by reminder or habit and not out of warning or need. It is dangerous because humans are not perfect. We get distracted by what comes next and when your sure you dropped everyone off, why check to see if there is anyone on board.

Mistakes can be fatal and van in schools or used to transport public children should be required to have a safety check!

Chattanooga: New Charges for Walker!

Update!!!

Walker, who drove and crashed a school bus in Chattanooga Tennessee last November is facing new charges in his trial.

Acording to reports Walker faces six counts of vehicular homicide, charges of reckless aggravated assault, reckless endangerment, reckless driving and using a portable electronic device as a bus driver.

He is a deplorable example of what a school bus driver should be like. We put all of our trust I the people who bring our children to school for us everyday and he leaves me with a bad taste in my mouth.

There is further talk that he may not face any jail if he  receives alternative judgement such as probation with a community service time.

I hope for the charges to all stick and letting this man anywhere near a moving vehicle should never be allowed!

Fort Worth Collision

Quick and Dirty:

A 40 year old women was driving and turned down a street going the wrong way.

She immediatly collided head on with the school bus! She was brought to he hospital with severe injuries. Only one child on the bus was brought to the hospital with minor injuries while 11 other ps where. Heckled out at the accidents location.

Not much else has been reported and the ages of the children on board were not disclosed.

When a car and a bus collide the bus pretty much always comes out on top due to its raised carriage design and size. Lucky for all involved!

Pit would be nice to see the accident report and how the front end of the bus ended up. Maybe a future report will mention more details, until then here hoping everyone comes out alright!

Haleigh

Webinar Takes You Through Automated Buses

Webinar is talking 21st century sci-fi! I am all about the thrill of updating school buses and their safety features! Not sure talking automated school buses is the best way to go but who doesn’t love rooting for th underdog ideas?

Mentioned is that it takes time for new technology to trickle down the automotive line and reach school buses and other larger vehicles- almost 20 years in some cases.  Cars can take the front line modifications due to their size and weight, then small vans and eventually pick up before we finally see an attempt at a bus. Currently buses are being equipped with some driving assistance systems and gps updates.

Id say we still have a ways to go before we have self parking or driving school buses! I have high hopes for the future of automation! Let’s bring about floating buses and sci-fi infused action!

 

Haleigh

New Nevada Seatbelt Law Passes

Starting July 1st, 2019 all newly purchased school buses must come equipped with lap-shoulder seats belts.  I have never been a huge fan of the seatbelt idea for school buses but with all of the new types of seatbelts available I am eager to further review the research they will be producing!

As always seatbelts will remain a hot topic.  With Nevada becoming the 7th state to have a school bus seatbelt law there are many changes on the horizon.

They are one of the few that have named a specific type of belt to be required and the law only states that any “newly purchased school buses” must be equipped. That said, most school bus companies do not buy brand new school buses and that means that there is a very simpler  work around for this law.

Another problem is that even thought the belts are required, it will be nearly impossible to enforce that students are wearing them let alone wearing them properly. This oversight is not something we can demand the driver to watch for and the budget of almost all districts restricts the ability to add a second adult to a route to oversee the students are following this new demand.

All in all the demand that buses come with seatbelts may not change anything unless they can come up with a way to make sure the student wear them.

Haleigh

 

School Transportation Technology and JAK the App

We have been sharing some information on the development of JAK the App. In her years in the school transportation industry, Kari identified 14 headaches for school transportation personnel. In the below audio clip of the interview with Tim Hennagir, Managing Editor of the Monticello Times, Kari discusses technology in school transportation, her development of JAK the App, and how JAK addresses 13 of the 14 headaches.

For Phil and His Family

Yesterday a 65 year old woman was driving a van in Monticello, Minnesota, and she crossed completely over the white line. In doing so she hit and caused the death of Monticello’s very own Phillip Gregory LaVallee. Phil Graduated with me last year and he was one of the most amazing athletes I have ever seen or had the chance to know.

He said once, in an interview that one thing he thought would be kind of cool to do before he passed was to win our hometowns 5K. Earlier this summer Phil did just that! He even set a record for fastest time! I remember seeing him there and thinking, “holy cow he’s amazing”. My mother and I were excited that someone from Monticello had won this year and she remembers seeing him jogging back after finishing while she was still running. She also thought that he was amazing.

Best wishes to Phil’s family, goodness knows how hard it is to lose someone. especially someone who was so young and full of promise.

To read the original story follow the below link.
Thank You,
Haleigh

Impact

 

IMPACT new design

This story is sorrowful and yet the survivors and the families of those that were lost have taken this tragic event and turned it into some of the most powerful experiences that have affect our nation as a whole. The crash in Carrolton, Ky on May 14th 1988 is a compounded memory for all involved. The terror of the crash, the fight for survival and the bravery they had to recover is a heart wrenching tale that must be told and retold over and over. From one mans ignorant choice a country has mourned and countless changes have been initiated. Those changes being one of the few positive things to come from this event.

The bus had just refueled, the students and chaperons were starting to settle down after a day of excitement. No one thought that a vehicle would be going the wrong way, no one thought they would be so thoroughly encased in fire, and no one thought that so many would be lost. When that car hit the barely protected fuel tank on that old bus, flames shot down the side. A survivor, Jason Booher, remembers this scene vividly, “Chuck, the youth director of the church that sponsored the trip, was sitting in the stairwell, so he stood up, and he was immediately engulfed in flames. He yelled out, “Lord, I’m coming home!” That was unbelievable, to witness something like that.”. At the time of the crash Booher was a mere 13 years old and recalls this event in horrific details.

<p>In addition to serving as assistant principal at Holmes High School in Covington, Ky., Booher is the school’s head boys basketball coach.</p>
Pictured above is Jason Booher a survivor of the 1988 Carrolton crash.

From there the bus which was meant filled to the brim with people and bags and coolers, collapsed into a panicked frenzy. The only exit remaining was the one in the back of the school bus sine the front was engulfed in flames. Everyone scrambled from their seats, piling up on top of each other in a brutal race towards freedom and safety. Sadly only 40 of the original 67 made it off of that bus. A rough 8 or so made it with only smoke inhalation as their injuries. The rest had severe burns, multiple skin graphs and weeks to spend in the hospital. Visual reminders will forever scar them and become a permanent reminder of that night so long ago, of that horror.

This production will show a tragedy and will show how these family, this town, our nation is working to overcome it. The good and the bad side affects from this crash will be sharing in stark details and as  raw memories from the survivors. Take the time to watch this film and think about the impact it has had. This is the link to the movie’s site, click here. The link to the story is here.

Thank You,
Haleigh

Mother Boards School Bus with Intent

Rebecca Sardoni and Stephanie Sardoni illegally boarded a  Toms River Regional School Bus last Friday morning and then proceed to assault two children . The driver of the bus (who remains anonymous) stated that Sardoni boarded the bus at her daughters stop and used vulgar language to describe an incident involving  Rebecca’s daughter and Stephanie’s Grand daughter. From there Rebecca called out “who is Vinny?”.  A boy near the rear of the bus supposedly raised his hand. After which Rebecca Sardoni went to the 9 year old boy and slapped him without saying another word. She hit him so hard that his face smashed into a school bus window. The boys had to be taken to the hospital for treatment for a busted lip and neck injuries.

Pictured above is Rebecca Sardoni.
 

Rebecca Sardoni call the school on Thursday night to voice her complaint about her daughter being bullied. Together the school official and Rebecca decided that the students mentioned would be spoken to by the school after the bus dropped them off on Friday morning. What these two woman did was illegal and ill founded. Not to mention unreasonably aggressive. To swear and use violence in front of children ranging from the ages of 5-10 years old is beyond my comprehension. These two woman should be down right ashamed of them selves. Even if the boy had been guilty of bullying her daughter, which he wasn’t, using physical force is never the right way to discipline a child in that situation.

Sardoni has been charged with and arrested for the following; simple assault, criminal trespass and terroristic threats.  Stephanie was charged with Criminal Trespass. The school also stated that this was not the first run-in with this parent. All this because she boarded the bus looking to take her daughters bullying matters into her own hands. The boy she hit was not a part of her daughters bullying, she made a mistake and now she will have to pay for acting in such and unreasonable and irresponsible manner. She will also need to live with the fact that she has hurt an innocent child and that above all is unforgivable.

To read the original story click here.

Thank You,
Haleigh

We Have an Impact on our Students!

One student in New York gained the will to succeed after speaking to her school bus driver after having a rather rough day at school. Ken Boisvert was the driver of Destynee Duncan, (who is now graduated)when she boarded the school bus one day after school and said that she was never going back. Duncan said that the state tests they administer in New York to all students, had been too hard and she had felt that she had performed them badly.

Pictured above is Boisvert and Duncan.
 


 It was at this time that Boisvert decided to step in and talk with the student about how important it is to finish school and graduate. He explained to Duncan that it is hard to succeed in our society without having your diploma. He is right of coarse seeing as very few places will hire anyone who isn’t in school and did not graduate. That being said Boisvert told Duncan his story, expressing at one point that if he was able to finish she should be able to as well.

Duncan did go back to school. She did graduate, it was Boisvert that she invited to the ceremony. It is also him that she thanks and credit with her return and successful finish.

School bus drivers can be the best part of every students morning or the most influential person in a moment.  Here at Hoglund transportation we strive to let the students have a safe ride but we also want to offer them a trustworthy adult who is ready and willing to help to the best of their abilities. To Ken Boisvert, I say he did an amazing job and deserves to be recognized as an outstanding member of the school bus community.

Thank You,
Haleigh