6,000 Schoolbus' Brakes May Be Bad
There's a back-to-school scramble at school bus maintenance garages across the nation, as mechanics double-check some 6,000 buses made by Thomas Built Buses.
The company, the nation's second largest school bus manufacturer, sent out warning letters dated August 30th, advising hundreds of school districts that they should inspect the anti-lock braking system for possible defects.
The letter, according to CBS News Reporter Jim Krasula, says the defect, when present, can cause the brake system's electronic control units to "misinterpret" some signals from the wheels, resulting in a temporary inability to brake.
The High Point, North Carolina-based company says repair kits are being manufactured and should be shipped by November.
The buses in question were manufactured between March 1988 and August of this year.
Representatives of the company were not available for comment during the Labor Day holiday weekend. There was no information about the problem Sunday on the Web sites of Thomas, Freightliner or Bendix.
When the vehicles are moving slowly, typically less than 20 miles per hour, they can temporarily lose their braking ability for up to three seconds, said Debi Nicholson, a spokeswoman for Freightliner Corp., the Portland-based parent company of school bus maker Thomas Built Buses Inc.
The problem was discovered by the brake system's manufacturer, Bendix of Elyria, Ohio, after a San Francisco school bus experienced a temporary loss of brake capability. The drive was able to stop safely.
No accidents have been directly linked to the brake systems, and Bendix spokesman Rick Batyko said Saturday that the emergency brake is unaffected by the problem.
Batyko said there have been 40 reported incidents of drivers temporarily losing braking power, but no accidents.
It is only under "very rare circumstances" that the brake system would completely fail, he said.
The company has sold 300,000 of the same anti-lock brake systems, manufactured from March 1998 to last month. About 46,000 are in buses made by International, Blue Bird and Thomas Built.
Batyko said Bendix has recommended that all its manufacturers who use the brake system issue recalls.
The brake system's electronic control units can "misinterpret" certain signals from the wheels, resulting in the temporary loss of braking capability "in one or more wheel positions," Thomas Built wrote in an Aug. 30 letter sent to hundreds of school districts nationwide.
The company said repair kits were being manufactured and would be shipped by November. Meanwhile, Freightliner dealerships are prepared to inspect buses around the clock, Nicholson said.
"We're certainly trying to react as quickly as possible," Nicholson said Saturday. "We wanted schools to have an opportunity to inspect their buses before school starts."
The companies have discussed the problem with officials from the National Highway Traffic SafetAdministration, she said.
CBS Worldwide Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report