Driving Safety

With school back in session, students will frequently be on the roads for day to day transportation, field trips and extra curricular activities. An important student safety component is a thorough vehicle use policy addressing procedures for driver authorization, vehicle use and maintenance, emergency response, and the use of charter or rental vehicles. Here are items to include in your policy to ensure best practices in transportation safety:

• Restrict who can drive school owned vehicles and when drivers can use privately owned vehicles for school business
• Enforce driver qualifications (e.g., age, current license, completion of training course, no driving infractions)
• Require driver of a privately owned vehicle used for school business has insurance for first coverage
• Outline who is responsible for vehicle maintenance 
• Define what vendors can be used for maintenance 
• Install safety features on vehicles such as video surveillance 
• Develop an easy to follow accident response protocol 
• Publicize and test the emergency response plan
• Put accident report kits in vehicles 
• Thoroughly vet companies your school charters/rents vehicles from & carefully review contracts

Driver Authorization

• Who can drive school owned vehicles (employees and students on school business)
• When drivers can drive privately owned vehicles for school business
• Traffic/parking tickets responsibility of driver
• Qualifications: min age, current license, completion of *driver training course
• Deny for driving infractions:
  • DUI
  • Felony w/ vehicle
  • Leave scene of accident
  • Multiple speed violations
  • At-fault crashes
• *covers – fatigue/drive time limits, seat belts, distractions, prohibition of alcohol or drugs, forbidding passengers in cargo areas

Vehicle Use & Safety

• Prohibit passengers not involved in school business
• Driver has insurance for first coverage on a privately owned vehicle used for school business
• Prohibit purchase or use of 15 passenger vans
• Safety features: “How’s My Driving” decals, video, crash event recorders
• Who is responsible for vehicle maintenance? (also what vendors)

Emergency Response Plan

• Easy to follow accident response protocol (for driver and school personnel who receive the report)
• Publicize and test ERP
• Put accident report kit in vehicles
• Train those in charge of receiving accident reports how to handle them

Charter and Rentals

• Thoroughly vet companies school charters/rents vehicles from 
  • Driver qualification and training
  • Safety and certification 
  • Insurance
• Review contracts