Eighty-five percent of all public and private school bus fleets in the state passed the initial safety inspection, according to a Sept. 8 Michigan State Police press release.
In that 85 percent is Oxford’s bus fleet.
The inspection includes a rating system of ‘pass,? ‘yellow,? or ‘red.?
‘Buses that do not pass the initial annual inspection receive either a yellow or red tag,? according to the press release. ‘Yellow-tagged buses may continue (to be driven) as long as the identified defect(s) is repaired within 60 days. A red-tagged bus cannot be used for pupil transportation until it is repaired.?
Out of 55 buses, Oxford had 50 buses that passed and five buses that were yellow-tagged. While he couldn’t recall what all the yellow tags were, Technician Mark Hillebrand remembered one of them was because a bus had a rust hole bigger than the size of a nickel.
‘When you consider the age of our fleet, and our fleet is pretty old, I think our guys do a fantastic job keeping the buses on the road everyday and having a great inspection report and they do so every year,? said Transportation Supervisor Ann Weeden, ‘I’m not saying it’s stellar. We’d love to have 100 percent, but we’re pretty close to it.?
Oxford’s fleet is comprised of two new mini buses that were bought last year, with the next newest bus being a 2005 and the oldest bus in the fleet being a 1998. But the majority of the fleet she said is used buses that were manufactured in 2002.
‘They’re getting up there in years and mileage,? Weeden added. ‘I couldn’t tell you exactly what the average miles are on our fleet, but we (have) a lot of them that are pretty close to 200,000, if not over.?
Assistant Superintendent of Business and Operations Sam Barna agreed with Weeden that Oxford’s Transportation Technicians Hillebrand along with Mike Strong do an ‘exceptional job.?
‘Our mechanics are fantastic and truly are another asset to our district,? he added.
When it comes to fixing the issues that were yellow tagged, Barna noted that they don’t mess around.
‘The State allows us up to 60 days to correct the issues. However, we fix these issues immediately, rather than delaying/taking advantage of the window that the State provides,? he said ‘We do this because safety is our number one priority.?
During the 2014-15 school year, vehicle safety inspectors completed 15,987 inspections statewide, as well as an additional 730 re-inspections on buses that failed the initial inspection.
‘This is the first year inspectors have used the Automated School Bus Inspection (ASBI) application to document inspection results,? stated the press release. ‘This system helps in identifying violation trends, which allows transportation providers the ability to adjust preventive maintenance procedures to increase overall safety.
Also new this year, parents can access individual school bus inspection results by scanning the QR Code sticker located on the service door of each pupil transportation vehicle.
‘The Automated School Bus Inspection application has dramatically increased our efficiency and gives us the ability to accurately identify, track and correct safety concerns,? stated Capt. Michael Krumm, commander of the MSP Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Division, in the press release.
‘This program puts Michigan in the forefront of school bus safety and ensures the vehicles that transport our most precious cargo are safe.?
A Certificate of Excellence will be presented to those districts whose fleet achieved a 100 percent pass rate, as well as those districts whose fleets achieved a 95-to-99 percent pass rate.
Although Oxford fell under the ‘Certificate of Excellence? category with a 90 percent ‘pass? rate, Weeden is proud of Oxford’s inspection results.
‘I’d like to stress again that both of our technicians, Mike and Mark in particular, probably don’t get as much credit as they probably should for the job they do keeping us on the road everyday,? she added.