In the wake of the death of a school bus driver, safety takes center stage in the minds of parents and drivers
The driver of the bus that crashed in Adams Township last week has died.
William "Bob" Miller died as a result of the crash and several Mars Area elementary school students who were on the bus at the time, but all of them were released from the hospital.
Miller worked with the district for a decade.
In the wake of the crash, school bus safety has been a much talked about topic in our region, not only among parents who saw the crash, but those working in the school bus industry.
March has been a tough month for the industry, on top of the crash of the Mars Area bus, there's been a Westmoreland County school van accident that left the driver dead.
It has many asking, is there anything being done about the safety of not only school buses but specifically, school bus drivers?
A brand new, shiny school bus rolled up to Frye Transportation in Beaver County and they're the company responsible for providing most of the transportation in the county.
President D.J. Frye is proud to show off the new $1.5 million acquisition, but the excitement isn't for the shiny new paint job, it's for the design that will protect the drivers.
"One of the most important elements to a school bus has nothing to do with the name on the side or the company that owns it, it starts with the make up and the character of the individual behind the wheel," he said. "The new technology with the next generation school buses has changed a little bit to make that a safer compartment for the driver. The driver can see much better, better sight lines, a lot of the buttons are closer to him or her."
Frye has a passion about protecting every student who climbs aboard one of his buses, as well as the drivers. His company also has a new state-of-the-art A.I. generated watching system that is watching via multiple cameras on each bus.
"All of our management team will get text messages and emails if our driver goes above the speed limit, may not have that safety belt on, maybe banking too tight in a turn," he explained.
It can even tell if the driver picks up a cell phone. All of these safety protocols are advancing by the year, and his company orders about 20 new buses per year, all of which will have the new safeguards.
"What will stay consistent is it will always be the safest way to get students to and from school," Frye said.
It's undeniable buses are getting safer, but make no mistake, they're already safe according to just about every reporting agency. They're already the the most regulated vehicles on the road.
