By Gary Lloyd
JEFFERSON COUNTY — In the wake of the Jan. 23 bus accident in Pinson, Jefferson County Schools Transportation Director Neal Underwood said the safety of students and drivers “are of the utmost importance to our system.”
On Jan. 23, a bus carrying Kermit Johnson Elementary School students overturned shortly after 3 p.m. on Rudd School Road at Highway 79. The bus was the only vehicle in the accident.
The investigation indicated that the driver was attempting to pull to the shoulder when the bus slipped into a ditch and rolled onto its side, according to the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office.
There were 50 students on the bus at the time of the accident. Ten were transported to Children’s Hospital with minor injuries. None of the injuries were considered life threatening. The remaining 40 students were taken back to Rudd Middle School on a second bus.
“We are very fortunate to have escaped the accident (Jan. 23) with a few minor bumps, scrapes and bruises,” Underwood said. “The school principal and his staff, along with the transportation mechanics and the first responders did an outstanding job in handling a scary and unfortunate accident.”
Despite this accident, a similar one in Clanton on Jan. 22 and a Trussville City Schools bus getting stuck in a small ditch Jan. 26, seat belts aren’t likely to be installed in school buses, Underwood said.
He said the study of seat belts on school buses has been conducted at the federal and state levels.
“All recommendations and information that we have received highly discourages the installation of any seat belts on our school buses,” Underwood said. “In all the studies conducted, no expert or federal/professional organization endorses lap belts only.”
Underwood said the state has mandated the use of higher seat backs on all new school buses. Jefferson County Schools does have seat belt harnesses for its special needs buses.
Contact Gary Lloyd at news@trussvilletribune.com and follow him on Twitter @GaryALloyd.