How Technology Keeps School Bus Drivers Accountable

School bus drivers are responsible for some of the country’s most precious cargo: children. More than 500,000 American school bus drivers cover over five billion miles of road each and every year. How are new technologies keeping students safer under their watch?

Over 400,000 highway accidents occur each year that can be attributed to driver distractions. Schools are tackling driver distraction head on, implementing strict no-tolerance policies for everything from texting to eating behind the wheel.

In-vehicle distractions can be even more dangerous than outside-the-vehicle distractions because they tend to happen when the bus is in motion. Increasingly, schools are reporting that integrating modern technologies into buses aimed to curb problematic student behavior allows drivers to stay focused and avoid having to intervene with students while driving. Some of the most promising technologies include in-bus WiFi, which allows students controlled internet access while on the bus, and on-bus cameras which are themselves a significant deterrent to bullying.

The trucking industry has been slowly implementing speed-stopping technologies into trucks for years. It’s no wonder, then, that speed-limiting technology is making its way onto buses. Software on buses counteracts speeding in several ways.

Speed-limiting sensors that physically limit the actual speed of the vehicle are a tenable solution, if not tied to issue of driver accountability. Simple GPS tracking software, however, relieved pressure on drivers to stick to unrealistic scheduling requirements without any proof to back up claims of traffic, idle time, or other slow-downs. In fact, GPS technologies used to optimize school bus routes are actually reducing the problem of inefficient – and thus, slow – routes overall, reducing drivers’ need to speed in the first place.

School bus drivers are asked to wear a lot of hats. Over time, their jobs have grown from simply shuttling kids back and forth safely to include responsibilities of truancy monitoring, bullying prevention, and even auto mechanics. Better technologies take some of these burdens from school drivers so they can concentrate on driving and nothing else.

School bus technology suites like Viafy are designed to streamline the entire process of managing a school bus. From integrating video cameras into buses to helping administrators keep track of which buses are constantly late, Viafy’s suite of bus technology helps drivers focus. Best of all, its suite management tools allow drivers and administrators to easily keep track of the maintenance needs of each bus without requiring drivers to remember things like oil change dates and tire rotations.

School bus drivers are an essential piece of the education puzzle. Without them, tens of millions of children wouldn’t make it to school on time – or at all! – and when they’re on duty, it’s only fair they should be allowed to focus first and foremost on safety. Great technology helps them do that.

For information on what our suite of hardware and software tools can do for your school, reach out to us today.