Press Releases - Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administrator (FMCSA) Joseph M. Clapp today announced Moving Kids Safely, a nationwide effort to increase the use of safe bus companies for transporting school children to sporting events, field trips, and other extracurricular activities. Clapp made the announcement at a special event at West Potomac High School in Alexandria, VA.

"This initiative will ensure that our most valuable resource - children - are transported by the safest vehicles possible," Clapp said. "Even though traveling by bus is the safest form of transportation, we must not take for granted the safety records of the individual bus companies we hire to carry our children to various activities away from home and school."

As recent as June 2002, drug use, fatigue and inattention contributed to a bus crash that killed the driver and four teenagers and injured dozens of people traveling to a church camp about 30 miles east of Dallas. Based upon completing a safety compliance review, FMCSA fined the bus company for violating federal motor carrier safety and placed it out of service for being unsafe. The company is no longer operating. Information about federal enforcement action regarding this case is on the Internet at www.fmcsa.dot.gov.

While most people would agree that the selection process for choosing a safe bus company to transport children to extracurricular events should be a top priority, some do not have the necessary information to make the best choice or know where to get it. Too often, bus companies are hired for reasons based primarily on the cost of transportation.

Moving Kids Safely promotes the identification and use of safe bus companies for extra-curricular school activities. It encourages those responsible to find answers to important safety questions, when searching for a bus company, including:

Does the company have authority to transport passengers in interstate commerce?
What are the company's accident history, safety rating, and insurance status?
Do company drivers possess current commercial driver's licenses with a "passenger" endorsement and valid medical certificates?
Will the trip be completed within legal driving time limits?

FMCSA plans to implement this initiative through each of its field offices, forming partnerships with organizations including the National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation Services (NASDPTS), Pupil Transportation Safety Institute (PTSI), the Parent Teachers Association, and the motorcoach industry.

Safety data on truck and bus companies is available through a search function by entering a company's USDOT number or company name in FMCSA's "Safer System" at safer.fmcsa.dot.gov. Additional information about Moving Kids Safely may be obtained from the FMCSA Website at www.fmcsa.dot.gov.

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