The Missouri State Highway Patrol has released results from their annual school bus inspection program for the 2017-2018 school year.
Across the state, over 12 thousand school buses were inspected twice within the past year. Buses with no defective items found receive an “approved” rating, those found with defective items that do not constitute an immediate danger receive a “defective” rating, and those posing immediate danger are taken out of service. Of all the inspected buses, 90.6% received an “approval” rating by inspection personnel.
Lieutenant Paul Reinsch, assistant director for the patrol’s public information division, says by checking for possible defects, they aim to ensure students are getting to and from school as safely as possible.
“As we always say, children are one of our greatest resources that we have, and we’re going to do whatever we can to keep those people safe,” says Reinsch.
281 school districts received a 90% or higher approval rating and had no out-of-service school buses, qualifying them for a Patrol’s Total Fleet Excellence Award.
Buses given a “defective” rating must be repaired by their district within 10 days following the inspection, and re-inspected after repairs. Buses given an "out-of-service" rating must be repaired, re-inspected, and placed back into service by the HIghway Patrol before transporting students. If buses are not presented for re-inspection within the 10-day period, they must be reported to the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.
To see specific Misouri school district ratings, visit: http://www.mshp.dps.missouri.gov/MSHPWeb/PatrolDivisions/MVI/documents/2018AnnualSchoolBusInspectionResults.pdf