Garfield utilizes Bensoftware’s SecuritySpy with its bus yard security cameras to capture intruders. “Questioning someone’s presence or reporting a suspicious person is the main approach ,” Parker says.Īt the district’s larger yards, electronic gates and door controls are used to keep out unwanted people, he adds. In order to cope with the situation, “All of our staff is trained to challenge any unfamiliar people visiting the yard.”įairfax County faces a similar problem, as buses are parked at more than 100 sites - many of which are not fenced in. “It is not a good situation and something we are constantly looking at where we can improve,” she says. Morgan points out that the Garfield transportation facility is set up so that all of the vendors must come through the yard to make deliveries. “The only exception is parts salesmen that go directly to the mechanics shop to see the lead mechanic,” Dallessandro explains. They are then escorted by transportation staff to where they need to be. In those cases, it is important to keep these visitors safe or alert the proper authorities if those visitors are not authorized to be in the yard.Īt Niagara Wheatfield, visitors are required to report to the main office before entering the yard. Being in groups and wearing bright clothes makes drivers and monitors easier to see, which is especially important during bad weather or when it is dark outside.Įven if your staff is equipped with reflective vests, there are times when non-transportation personnel come to the bus yard. Similarly, Fairfax County encourages “drivers to buddy-up and avoid being at a remote location alone,” Parker says. Now, drivers and monitors are required to wear a reflective safety vest while on the clock. “At our first driver safety meeting as the new director, I gave about an hour PowerPoint presentation on the fatality - what led up to it, the situation itself and how we healed the district and moved forward from that.” “When I came to Niagara Wheatfield, they did not have a safety vest policy,” Dallessandro explains. In 2008, longtime bus driver Brenda Chiappetta was struck by a bus while she was walking in the yard at 6 a.m. Niagara Wheatfield’s reflective vest policy was the result of a tragedy at the district where Dallessandro previously worked, Lake Shore Central School District in Angola, N.Y. In addition to enforcing an identification badge rule, “staff is encouraged to wear bright as opposed to dark clothing for greater recognition.” Many staff members also sport logoed apparel that makes them easier to spot.Īt Niagara Wheatfield Central School District in Niagara Falls, N.Y., driver ID badges are inserted into a clear plastic pocket in the front of a reflective vest, Transportation Director Michael Dallessandro says. This is also true of Fairfax County Public Schools in Lorton, Va., according to Assistant Director of the Office of Transportation Services Timothy Parker. Related Articles: How Secure Is Your Bus Yard? Even so, she says, “All of our district staff has name badges.” “Our facility is small enough that we can visually identify anyone new or out of place,” says Sanja Morgan, director of transportation at Garfield School District Re-2 in Rifle, Colo. This is relatively simple to achieve, according to administrators. The people who come to the bus yard every day - drivers, aides, mechanics and administrators - should be easy to spot. If secured and managed properly, they say a bus yard will operate smoothly. So how do you protect your staff, visitors and equipment from potential security threats? To find out, we spoke with transportation directors from three operations about their yards’ security technology, policies and training. The sheer size of some yards - which must be large enough to accommodate a number of buses - can be problematic: potential vandals or thieves could take advantage of unmonitored areas. Drivers, mechanics and other staff navigate the yard while buses and other vehicles regularly enter and exit. The typical school bus yard is teeming with potential safety hazards that must be managed carefully.
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