Effective Date: April 26, 2001
Responsibility: Superintendent of Business
Rationale:
Despite everyone’s best efforts to provide our students with safe transportation, accidents happen. This guideline has been developed to ensure that when an accident does occur, our students receive the attention they require, and the system responds in a helpful and professional manner. This guideline is intended to cover injuries to students while riding on the bus, injuries to bus students during the loading and unloading of the bus, and collisions between a school bus and another vehicle or object.
1.0 No Students on the Bus (Bus is traveling to or from school run or in between school runs)
1.1 The Driver shall:
1.1.1 Notify the Dispatcher/Operator.
1.1.2 Complete an Accident Report as soon as possible.
1.2 The Dispatcher/Operator shall notify:
1.2.1 Police if total damage to both vehicles is more than $700.00.
1.2.2 The Manager of Transportation.
1.2.3 The schools if the bus route will be delayed.
1.3 The Operator shall arrange for the bus route to be covered
2.0 STUDENTS ON BUS – NO APPARENT INJURIES
2.1 The Driver shall:
2.1.1 Notify the Dispatcher/Operator.
2.1.2 Complete an Accident Report. A list of all students on board at the time of the accident must be included.
2.2 The Dispatcher/Operator shall notify:
2.2.1 Police, regardless of the extent of damage.
2.2.2 The Manager of Transportation.
2.2.3 The affected schools.
2.3 The Operator shall:
2.3.1 Arrange for the bus route to be covered.
2.3.2 Submitted a copy of the Accident Report to the Manager of Transportation within 48 hours.
2.4. Manager of Transportation shall:
2.4.1 Notify members of the Executive Council.
2.4.2 Provide the Principal(s) with a synopsis of the accident.
2.5. The Principal shall:
2.5.1 Forthwith notify parents of students who were on the bus advising them of the accident and recommending that they monitor their student’s for a few days. 2.5.2 Ask teachers to monitor the children during the day.
3.0 STUDENTS ON BUS – APPARENT INJURIES
3.1. The Driver shall:
3.1.1 Notify the Dispatcher/Operator
3.1.2 Complete an Accident Report within 24 hours.
3.2 The Dispatcher/Operator shall notify:
3.2.1 911, or 3.2.2 Police, Fire Department and Ambulance.
3.2.3 The Manager of Transportation.
3.2.4 The affected schools.
3.3 The Operator shall:
3.3.1 Arrange for the bus route to be covered.
3.3.2 Arrange for a bus to be sent to the accident scene.
3.3.3 Provide the Manager of Transportation with a copy of the accident report within 48 hours of the accident.
3.4 The Manager of Transportation shall:
3.4.1 Notify Members of Executive Council.
3.4.2 Proceed to the accident scene and obtain the details of how the accident occurred, and anything that could have contributed to the accident, i.e., weather, road, vehicle or driver condition. 3.4.3 Provide the Principal(s) with a synopsis of the accident.
3.4.4 If necessary, designate a person to contact Central Ambulance Dispatch for information on the whereabouts of students. The contact person shall call the hospitals and indicate that the Board will assist in notifying the parents of their student’s location.
3.4.5 Designate a person to contact the Board’s insurance agent.
3.5 The Principal shall (AS REQUIRED):
3.5.1 Assign a staff member to go to the accident scene.
3.5.2 Set aside a section of the school for the reception of parents.
3.5.3 Allocate responsibilities to staff:
- Receiving parents
- Responding to telephone calls
- Media reception
- Transportation
- Security – entrance to school
- Parking • Refreshments
3.5.4 Extract and photocopy the necessary Student Health Information Forms.
3.5.5 Fax or arrange for the delivery of the Health Forms to the appropriate Hospital.
3.5.6 Where practical, dispatch a staff member to the hospital(s) receiving casualties.
3.5.7 Notify the Tragic Events Response Team (TERT) or the Critical Events Response Team (CERT) to attend the school.
3.5.8 As soon as possible, phone the parents of students who were on the bus to advise them of the accident. Parents should be given the opportunity to pick up their child and have the child examined by their family doctor.
3.5.9 Ask teachers to monitor the children during the day.
3.5.10 Liaise with the police concerning their procedure for the release of the identity of the injured.
3.6. The School staff member assigned to the accident scene shall:
3.6.1 Proceed to the accident scene with a cellular phone (if available), clipboard and identification, and if necessary, assume the driver’s responsibility for the students.
3.6.2 Upon arrival at the scene, ensure that all students remain at the scene until an ambulance attendant has had an opportunity to assess the condition of the students. Students may only be permitted to leave with a parent/guardian.
3.6.3 List who were on the bus at the time of the accident and where they were seated. Someone should be assigned to contact the school to determine if any students were absent due to sickness, etc.
3.6.4 If possible, obtain the names of the injured students along with the hospital to which they are taken and notify the School when they leave the scene of the accident. If the destination of the ambulance is unknown, notify the School.
3.7. The Director shall (AS REQUIRED):
3.7.1 Notify Trustees
3.7.2 Dispatch a Superintendent or designate to the school to act as a support person to the principal and to maintain constant communication between the school and the command post. 3.7.3 Advise the switchboard operator to handle incoming calls, regarding the emergency, as follows:
- Parent Calls Team of Supervisory Officers and support personnel
- News Media Director of Education
- Authorized Officials Director of Education
- Trustees Director of Education
- General Try to discourage these calls by saying phone lines must be kept open for emergency procedures
