Perryville school bus safety week

Steve King (right), Career Center Director, watches as the mock bus evacuation is practiced. (Photo by L. Boxdorfer, Perry County School Dist. No. 32)

During School Bus Safety Week, Meyer Bus Lines held bus evacuation drills to prepare students for what they need to do in case of a bus accident or emergency.

"We usually hold two evacuation drills a year," said Brad Moll, owner of Meyer Bus Lines. "We try to do our first one during School Bus Safety Week and the second one will be done sometime during second semester. We hold the drills at the end of the school day after the students have loaded onto the buses to go home. We hold back part of the buses and let the other ones leave the lot. Then one of my employees or a school district administrator will go over all the safety procedures with the students, showing them where the emergency exits are, the first aid kit, the fire extinguisher, and the reflective triangles, just in case the bus driver is incapacitated. We then have a mock evacuation, letting the kids exit the emergency door in the back of the bus. We discuss that they should leave the buses quickly and orderly but not to jump. Two students stand at the back of the bus to help the kids get down safely."

In addition to the safety drills held during School Bus Safety Week, the buses are also inspected by the Missouri Highway Patrol once a year to make sure they are in safe operating order. "We usually have the bus inspections after the first of the year," said Moll, "but this year we also had a surprise inspection in September. I'm happy to say that we passed that inspection with flying colors."

Bus drivers are also required to attend bus driver training sessions where they view training films and discuss emergency evacuation procedures.