Indian LakeLocal Schools

I’d like to welcome everyone back to school!    

We cannot ignore the tragedy that our friends and neighbors at Northwestern Schools have recently experienced.   It’s on our minds, and we are sure it’s on yours as well.   All of us who drive school buses have been feeling the effects of the Northwestern crash, and asking what comes next.

As for what’s next, we simply do not know.   The investigation process will take weeks, if not months, and we as an industry will be taking a hard look at the outcome and lessons to be learned.

What we do know, is that we will be on the road on August 30^th, and the next day, and the next day.   We will continue to keep safety our top priority.   

At Indian Lake Schools, we perform about 95% of bus maintenance & repairs in-house, where we can ensure the strictest quality control.   All buses are inspected at least twice a year by representatives of the Ohio State Highway Patrol, in addition to the drivers’ daily inspections.

Ohio has one of the best (toughest) training processes for school bus drivers in the nation, and as a direct result, injuries and deaths are a very rare occurrence.

A typical new hire bus driver for Indian Lake undergoes 16 hours of classroom training, and another 40+ hours of hands-on, on and off road training with a state certified instructor.   There is no “fast track” to becoming a school bus driver, and the system works.  Additionally, we undergo annual refresher training.   

Every 6 years each driver must return to the classroom portion of their training, followed by an on-road evaluation by a state certified instructor.  In fact, I completed mine in early August.  And 6 more drivers will be doing so during the 23/24 school year.

All drivers are subject to random drug and alcohol testing, and are required to pass an annual physical exam.

At ILS, 100% of buses are equipped with antilock air brake systems.  About half of our route buses are equipped with electronic stability control which features forward collision mitigation, lane departure alerts, and over speed alerts.

100% of route buses are equipped with GPS tracking.  This includes the speed at which buses are driven, with a daily report to administration of over speed incidents.

The bus driver is the first line of defense, but having modern technology to back them up add peace of mind.

My team and I are proud to be the ones transporting ILS students, and we take safety seriously.    Bus drivers will be in attendance at this year’s open house events, and they will have a bus at each school location should you like to have a look at one.  See you there!

Patrick Smith – Transportation Director

 
Bus Drivers