Legal Analysis – Belgrade, MO School Bus Crash

Post Date: March 30th, 2012

I was watching TV tonight (actually a program from several weeks ago on TIVO) when a newsflash came on regarding a school bus crash in Belgrade, Missouri, which is just a bit south of where I live.  Before January 18, 2011, this news story might not have captured my attention like it did tonight.

January 18 of last year was the day that a 77-year-old bus driver ran over and killed a student he had just dropped off in front of the boy’s house in Williamsburg, Missouri.  This incident and bus safety has had quite a profound impact upon me because I am the lawyer representing the parents in the lawsuit against the School District, the Bus Driver, the Superintendent, and the Director of Transportation.

Some might think it is crazy to sue these other parties besides the school bus drivers.  That’s because most people do not have a real concept of what’s involved in school bus safety.  Through my representation of the family in the Williamsburg case and past school bus cases, I’ve learned as a Missouri Personal Injury Lawyer how heavily regulated school bus transportation is.

What this means is that school bus accidents should not be happening if everyone just follows the documented safety rules!

This is the problem.  The are many books, conferences, regulations, etc. that schools, their superintendents, transportation directors and bus drivers are required to know about.  Additionally, there are a number of very simple and straightforward safety regulations particular to school bus operations that they are required to follow them.  The problem is that they get lazy.  As not only a Missouri Injury Attorney, but also as a parent, this really ticks me off!  It’s one thing to violate a rule that has no impact on anyone else.  It is an entirely different thing to violate a safety rule established for the protection of the community and its children.  I think that the more precious the cargo (like our children), the more stringent that individuals must be in making sure the safety rules are followed.

The initial news reports are that the crash occurred because the driver became distracted when a student dropped something behind his seat and went to retrieve it.  The driver was a 72-year-old substitute bus driver for the day.

Several things jump out at me already here.  First, I have some serious concerns about a 72-year-old being allowed to drive a bus full of children.  No, it is not illegal.  However, it cannot be discounted that increased age leads to a decrease in alertness and reaction abilities.  Even the law recognizes this.  For instance, every driver over the age of 70 with a school bus endorsement is required to retest every year in regards to their physical qualifications, as opposed to every several years otherwise.  Thus, one of the questions that must be answered was did this substitute driver have a valid school bus endorsement (which also requires a yearly DOT physical).

However, the bigger item that jumps out is that the driver was distracted because of a student who was out of his seat.  Some people mistakenly think that the driver’s distraction could happen to anyone because of this wandering student.  I strongly disagree.

Here’s what most people, even most lawyers because they have never handled a school bus accident case, do not realize.  There is an entity called the Missouri Department of Secondary Education, DESE for short.  DESE has an arm that regulates school bus transportation.  DESE has both implemented its own regulations and also requires school districts to implement further safety regulations pertaining to school bus transportation.  Examples of some of the safety rules that are to be implemented to avoid crashes like this include:

• Driver’s are not to engage in any unnecessary conversations with students due to safety concerns (it takes the driver’s focus and attention off of the road);
• It is the driver’s duty to maintain order on the bus – this is done by exhibiting a demeanor of respect and firmness to the students;
• Students are to be trained by the school to follow the safety rules;
• The School District is to provide at least 8 hours of training to bus drivers every year on the safety rules;
• Students are not to leave their seat at any time while the bus is in motion.

The above are just a few examples of pertinent safety rules.  Listen, I understand that a lot of people will make the argument that you cannot control a bus full of children.  That’s hogwash.  If you are one of the people that think that cannot be done, then make sure you are never involved in the safety administration of bus transportation.  The problem is that too many of the bus drivers and school personnel share that false belief.  I know it is false because I have seen first-hand what an exceptional bus safety program can do.  I work with who I consider the foremost expert in the country on bus transportation safety.  For over 30 years, this man was in charge of the school bus transportation system in Nashville.  He was a stickler for making sure that all of his students and employees strictly abided by the safety rules.  The result was that in 30 years, he never had one injured child.

With some of the above safety rules and the brief facts of this collision in mind, here is how I see it from a legal perspective.  First, as a substitute driver, I have to wonder if he had the required amount of yearly safety training completed.  If not, then the school should have never allowed him to be behind the wheel of that bus.  Second, the students should have known that they are never allowed to leave their seat.  How is this done, by providing the required yearly training to the students.  And it should not just be the rote unimpressionable training that most schools employ.  Rather, school officials need to be impressing upon the personnel and the students that the training is vitally important.  If they treat it as such, students will listen.  Third, had the training been properly employed, both the students and the driver would have known that students are never to leave their seat.

Lastly, I have to wonder why this student leaving his seat caused the driver to crash anyway.  As a substitute driver, perhaps he did not have the required skill and/or training in operating a bus.  Should the fact of a student getting up to retrieve something from the front of the bus result in the bus driver losing control of the bus and causing it to crash and overturn – I think not.  The fault lies undoubtedly with the driver, but most likely also with the school personnel who commonly fail to adhere to established safety rules.

In the end, this is another incident of a growing trend of bus crashes across Missouri in the past year.  While most people might think that the job of a bus driver is of no great significance, that couldn’t be further from the truth.  In fact, there are few other professions I can think of where one person holds the safety, health, and lives of so many children in their hands at one time.  Until our schools start getting VERY SERIOUS about bus transportation safety, I fear that this epidemic may continue.  That is why, since January 18, 2011, it has become a personal mission of mine to get schools and bus drivers to more closely follow the safety laws.  Of course, as a personal injury attorney, my main vehicle of accomplishing that goal is through the legal system where, through representing victims of school bus crashes, I can expose the deficiencies in our bus transportation systems.

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Joshua P. Myers is the owner and President of Myers Injury Law, LLC and a founding partner of Schultz & Myers, LLC.  Based in St. Louis, Missouri, his personal injury law firm routinely handles motor vehicle accidents that result in personal injury or death throughout the Midwest. If you have been hurt or have lost a loved one due to the negligence of another driver, please contact us to learn your rights.  It is always free to discuss your case and there are never any attorney’s fees until we recover on your behalf.  Call us 24/7 at 314-720-2706 or toll-free at 888-956-2487.

Joshua Myers

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