The Ohio State Highway Patrol is currently inspecting every Ohio school bus – including those right here in our community. With children across the area set to return to local schools later this month, Ohio State Highway Patrol motor vehicle inspectors are ensuring every school bus is safe to transport children to and from school, and school-sanctioned events. These teams inspect all Ohio school buses at least twice each year; once prior to the beginning of the school year and once during the school year
Last year, Patrol personnel inspected 46,256 school buses across Ohio, and found only 921 out of compliance and in need of a follow-up inspection before being cleared to transport children. Since 1966, there has not been a single crash fatality in Ohio involving a child riding in a school bus.
Our commitment to ensure the safety of every child who rides on a school bus is one of the most valuable services we provide to the public each year. We take this responsibility extremely seriously, and I know that when an Ohio school bus receives a safety decal from the Patrol that the children who ride that bus are in one of the safest vehicles in which they can travel.
From June through August, approximately 20,000 school buses are inspected statewide for safety and compliance to Ohio's school bus construction standards. When the school bus passes inspection, a school bus inspection decal is affixed to the vehicle, which is a readily visible indication that the school bus has passed the annual inspection process and is ready to be operated during the next school year. (A jpeg of the decal is available at http://www.statepatrol.ohio.gov)
Each school bus must pass the Ohio school bus construction standards as addressed in Ohio Revised Code and other inspection points as noted in the annually published Ohio School Bus Inspection Manual. The detailed inspection covers four major areas:
1. Engine Compartment: Complete check of the engine compartment for fluid leaks;
2. Exterior: Checked for proper color (school bus yellow), correct markings, all lights in working order, especially the student pick up lights that flash and the stop sign that extends, which protects the children when the students enter and exit the bus, and overall condition of the exterior of the school bus;
3. Interior: Ensures that the compartmentalization of the interior is maintained. (This protects the children in the event of a crash). The driver area is inspected to note that the driver has a clear view of the areas outside of the bus through the use of the required mirrors; and
4. Undercarriage: Inspected for any problems with the frame or suspension, and that all braking systems are in proper working order.
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