Are Your Kids Safe on the School Bus?
As a parent, it’s your responsibility to keep your kids safe from harm. Most parents are aware of dangers around the house, but it’s difficult to know about all the dangers lurking outside. If your kids ride the bus to school, you may want to know about some hidden dangers kids may face on the school bus.
School bus drivers are considered drivers of commercial vehicles by the law. However, since school buses don’t cross state lines, federal safety regulations that apply to commercial vehicle drivers do not apply to school bus drivers. As a result, many less qualified or less experienced drivers who do not qualify as drivers for commercial transportation and trucking companies find it easy to get a job driving a school bus full of children.
Commercial vehicle drivers must have a certain type of driver’s license called a CDL license. Although some school bus drivers do get these licenses, other regulations like company screenings and background checks are rare. In many cases, background checks are not even required. Unfortunately, the lack of background checks, lack of qualifications, and relaxed safety regulations contributes to many school bus accidents and injuries seen by an accident attorney in Portland, Oregon. Children put on school buses with inexperienced drivers are at a much higher risk of harm.
School bus drivers are employed by school bus companies. Your child’s school does hire the school bus company, but they have nothing to do with hiring individual drivers. Since school bus companies are eager to get lucrative contracts with local school districts, many don’t do background checks that slow down the hiring process. As a result, many school bus companies hire inexperienced and unqualified drivers. Many school bus drivers even have criminal records for DUI offenses, physical and sexual assaults, and child pornography. Without a background check, arrests for criminal offenses and extensive vehicle accidents are never discovered.
There are 21 million children riding on school buses every day in the U.S. To protect your child from unnecessary school bus accidents and injuries often seen by an accident attorney in Portland, Oregon, investigate your child’s school district’s requirements for school bus drivers.