Following the deadly school bus accident in Tennessee where six schoolchildren died, school administrators were left wondering how it happened and how they could improve the safety of their students while aboard the school bus. Fortunately, incidents like this are completely avoidable if proper preventive measures such as school bus monitoring are taken. The schools have to ensure that bus safety rules are followed for the welfare of everyone.
The Perks of Installing GPS System for School Bus Monitoring
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Fleet monitoring plays a big role in the safety of children on the road as the system logs and sends GPS tracker updates of the locations that drivers go to throughout the travel. It also sends alerts when harmful employee driving behaviors that could endanger the young passengers are detected, including the following:
- Driving over the set speed limit
- Hard braking
- Swerving
- Reckless and aggressive driving
- Unauthorized changing of bus route
The use of GPS technology in school bus monitoring is not a new method; in fact, several schools are already using it to keep an eye on driving behaviors of their bus drivers. According to WNCN.com, some schools in North Carolina have taken extra precaution by assigning supervisors on buses to make sure that drivers won’t go over 45 mph.
Another school in Lafayette, Louisiana, attested to the benefits of adopting a school bus monitoring system. The school official reported that the GPS tracking system allows him to oversee the school’s remote employees from his desk. He only has to check on his computer to know the bus’ current whereabouts, locations of every stop it made, and whether it is running at the prescribed speed.
Conduct Regular Bus Inspections Before and After Departure
There have been reports in the past of students being left on the bus because they were sleeping. Visual inspection can help ensure this won’t happen again. Bus inspection also includes routine mechanical and maintenance checkup to avoid unexpected mechanical failure and make sure that the bus is in good running condition all the time.
Tighten Driver Screening
For a job that is responsible for the safety of schoolchildren, thorough screening should be applied. Applicants must be fit and have undergone proper training to make sure that they can do the job assigned to them. School bus monitoring using the GPS system can also help track employee driving performance, whether they are following or breaking safety rules.
Transportation professionals should understand the dangers that come with their job and must therefore support every possible precaution devised by school officials to ensure the safety of everyone on the road.
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