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State Officials Recognize National School Bus Safety Week

This week is National School Bus Safety Week and the West Virginia Governor’s Highway Safety Program is reminding drivers and pedestrians about the state’s school bus laws.

The program is specifically focusing on the illegal passing of school buses while the stop-arm is extended, signaling that children are entering or exiting. Drivers should come to a complete stop until the arm is retracted and the bus begins to move.

The area where children are entering or leaving buses is called the “danger zone,” which can be 10 feet in front of the bus, 10 feet outside either side of the bus or anywhere behind the school bus.

Aimee Cantrell of the Highway Safety Program said it’s part of the program’s goal to reduce the number of incidents on West Virginia roadways.

“Not to be cliche, but school buses are transporting one of our most precious natural resources, right, our kids,” Cantrell said. “That’s why, as motorists, it’s our responsibility to just kind of keep an extra eye out, extra caution.”

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports 183 pedestrian deaths and 112 deaths of occupants in school-transportation-related crashes from 2011 to 2020, with 21 percent of school-age pedestrians killed in school-transportation-related crashes struck by vehicles moving straight.

However, school buses are statistically one of the safest vehicles on the road for children, accounting for less than one percent of all traffic fatalities.

Cantrell says recognizing school bus safety is also important for pedestrians.

“We would encourage any bus rider to arrive at the bus stop five minutes early, to take at least five giant steps away from the edge of the road and wait until the bus stops, the door opens and the driver says it’s okay before stepping onto the bus,” Cantrell said.

The annual observation coincides with a bus crash in Mingo County, when it collided with a truck on the King Coal Highway around 7 a.m. Tuesday morning. It hospitalized seven students and killed the truck driver.

More resources about school bus safety can be found at the NHTSA’s website.

Mingo County: Truck Driver Dead In Collision With School Bus

A truck driver is dead and seven students hospitalized for evaluation following an early morning school bus crash in Mingo County.

The school bus was carrying students on the way to Mingo Central High School when it collided with a truck on the King Coal Highway around 7 a.m.

The Mingo County Sheriff’s Office has confirmed to WVPB the driver of the truck was killed in the head on collision. The driver’s name has not been released.

School officials released a statement saying the injuries to the students are not considered to be life-threatening.

Parents of the students were notified immediately following the accident and the school alerted the community through its social media channels.

The West Virginia State Police state police are investigating the crash.

First Lady Cathy Justice postponed a scheduled trip to Lenore for a Therapy Paws “Pup Rally” event. The first lady issued the following statement in a press release:

“The Governor and I send our deepest condolences to the family of the driver that was killed in this morning’s crash. We are also praying for the families of the students and bus driver involved, several of whom were transported to the hospital,” Justice said.

Many W.Va. Counties In Crisis Mode Over School Bus Driver Shortage

Numerous West Virginia counties are struggling to recruit and retain school bus drivers and mechanics.

State school transportation director David Baber said bus driver and mechanic shortages are a fluctuating, county by county problem.

“Unfortunately, it’s kind of up to the individual county,” Baber said. “It’s what works best for them. We have certain areas that are worse than others. The population, the economy makes a difference whether we can get people to work.”

West Virginia school bus drivers go through at least 50 hours of rigorous training. Baber said more affluent counties, like Cabell, now pay for the training. He said many others still do not.

“It’s most always been that way. There was no provision in the state code or anything to pay for that training unless the county had excess money, and most of them don’t have any excess money,” Baber said.

“Plus, we have new federal regulations that took place in February that even make it a little bit stricter and tougher on us.”

Baber said, like many other states, school bus driver shortages are causing longer bus routes, creating challenges transporting students to extracurricular and sporting events – and some walking-to-school boundaries are expanding.

Baber says there’s no state plan to recruit, retain or increase pay. He says some counties are finding drivers by using Facebook ads and roadside help-wanted banners.

He noted that West Virginia is an older state, and many veteran school bus drivers are retiring, without younger replacements.

“We have a lot of retirees and a lot of our bus drivers have been working in the system for years,” Baber said. “When they retire, we don’t have the folks to fill those positions. We’re seeing the same thing on the technician’s side as well.”

Baber suggested that anyone interested in school bus driver or mechanic work should contact their county school system.

W.Va. Electric School Bus Pilot Project Announced

A new pilot project will help equip West Virginia school districts with low or no cost electric buses.

In his regular briefing on Thursday, Gov. Jim Justice announced that the Department of Economic Development will begin working with West Virginia school districts and the GreenPower company to help provide electric school buses at no or low cost.

Mark Nestlen with GreenPower joined Justice in explaining the first $500 million from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act is now available.

He said those funds are federally designated to replace diesel burning school buses with zero-emission electric buses.

Nestlen said state school districts can almost get those buses for free.

“The large school buses will have a $375,000 rebate from the federal government, the smaller school buses $285,000,” Nestlen said. “And then they get an additional $20,000 per bus after that to work on charging infrastructure.”

Nestlen said GreenPower will take possession of its South Charleston facility in August, and have buses rolling out by September.

Canadian Electric Vehicle Maker To Build School Buses In West Virginia

A Canadian electric vehicle manufacturer is coming to West Virginia, bringing hundreds of jobs.

GreenPower Motor Co. announced Wednesday that it will build electric school buses at a plant in South Charleston.

The 80,000-square-foot plant will employ 200 workers later this year and as many as 900 within two years. The company will lease the property from the state.

The state will provide $3.5 million in employment incentive payments, as well as purchase $15 million in buses manufactured at the facility.

“As we continue to diversify our economy, manufacturing these zero-emission school buses in West Virginia will open up a world of opportunities for our state,” Gov. Jim Justice said in a statement. “Not only will it bring hundreds of great paying jobs to the Kanawha Valley, but the ripple effects on our state’s economy are going to be off-the-charts.”

The Beast is a 90-seat school bus that has a range of 140 miles.

The zero-emission buses will replace diesel-powered ones. Studies have shown that diesel exhaust from school buses is harmful to children’s respiratory health.

The bipartisan infrastructure bill Congress passed last year includes $5 billion for low- and no-emissions school buses.

Two W.Va. Counties Receive Funding To Replace Older School Buses

Upshur and Berkeley counties are getting some new, cleaner school buses.

The Upshur County Board of Education will be awarded $160,000 to receive eight new school buses, and Berkeley County Schools will see $20,000 to replace one bus.

The funding was awarded through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and made available through rebates from the Diesel Emissions Reduction Act (DERA). The intent of the program is to replace older, diesel school buses that are less energy efficient.

In a press release from West Virginia’s two U.S. Sens. Shelley Moore Capito and Joe Manchin, the lawmakers said the replacements will help lead to more reliable and safe transportation and also emit less pollutants linked to asthma and lung damage.

“DERA is an example of common sense, bipartisan legislation that is a win for states and federal governments alike,” Capito said. “These new buses will help … create overall healthier conditions for our students.”

According to DERA’s website, diesel exhaust can be especially harmful to children who have faster breathing rates than adults and whose lungs are still developing.

“Every West Virginian deserves clean air to breathe,” said Manchin. “The EPA’s investment to clean up school buses in Upshur and Berkeley Counties is great news for our state.”

DERA reports on average, school buses travel about four billion miles every year, transporting more than 25 million American children everyday.

As of June 30, 2020, West Virginia has 3,983 school buses, according to the West Virginia Department of Education. Of that figure, 3,894 use diesel engines, 24 are gasoline powered, and 65 use propane.