News from New York State Department of Transportation

For more information contact: Carol Breen, 518-457-6400

Statement on School Bus Safety Week

ALBANY, NY (10/26/2007; 1032)(readMedia)-- It is important in recognizing this week as National School Bus Safety Week to underscore the high degree of attention and emphasis New York State places on the safe transportation of our school children and to highlight the Department of Transportation’s comprehensive bus-inspection program.

The department sends trained, professional bus inspectors to examine all buses owned by private companies in the state. It is mandated that each bus pass a safety inspection every six months or be taken off the road. Many of these buses are used everyday to transport children from home to school and back, safe and sound.

Sponsored by the National Association for Pupil Transportation, this weeklong recognition brings into sharp focus all the factors that contribute to school bus safety – those who inspect buses, those who drive buses, motorists who obey the rules of the road concerning school buses and the hundreds of thousands of schoolchildren statewide who depend on buses for safe, reliable transportation to school and home again.

The New York State Department of Transportation is committed to school bus safety and will continue to focus on providing thorough inspections for buses in New York State.

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