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From:
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National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation Services
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To:
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NTSB
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Date:
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2/6/2017
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Response:
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-From Charlie Hood, Executive Director: In 2015, the NTSB issued Safety Report NTSB/SR-15/01, Commercial Vehicle Onboard Video Systems. The report focused on two crashes in which continuous onboard video systems recorded critical crash-related information. In a 2011 motor coach crash in Kearney, Nebraska, the video system captured critical pre-crash information, but had certain limitations that negated the potential benefits of crash and post-crash event data. In a 2012 school bus crash in Port St. Lucie, Florida, the video recording system captured all three phases of the crash, including precrash driver and passenger behaviors and vehicle motion; vehicle and occupant motion during the crash; and post-crash events, such as passenger evacuation, short-term injury outcomes, and emergency response. The report noted the need to improve the visibility of all passenger seating positions to the cameras when installing onboard video systems. In addition, the report indicated that to understand the motion of the vehicle during a crash and to record any surrounding vehicles, onboard video systems require improved range of coverage forward of the vehicle.
In the agency’s Highway Accident Brief on the 2014 Anaheim, California school bus crash, released in October 2016, the NTSB noted that the bus was also equipped with an onboard video recording system. The video recording provided data reflecting the trip, the crash sequence, and the post-crash response. The driver and some students were recorded in the camera views. The video showed that the driver was not using a cell phone, nor was he distracted, before the crash event. It also showed that, during the trip, the driver did not always wear his lap/shoulder belt.
The video also documented the driver slumping over and letting go of the steering wheel just prior to the crash, and his unresponsiveness for the duration of the crash event and for most of the period recorded post-crash.
Based on the video evidence, the NTSB concluded that the school bus departed the roadway as a result of the driver’s loss of consciousness. The NTSB further concluded that the continuous onboard video recording system provided valuable data concerning the driver’s physical state and loss of consciousness prior to the crash sequence. The above summaries, paraphrased from the NTSB brief, do not provide the full detail contained within the reports, but are included to provide context to the agency’s safety recommendation and our response, discussed below.
Based on the video evidence, the NTSB concluded that the school bus departed the roadway as a result of the driver’s loss of consciousness. The NTSB further concluded that the continuous onboard video recording system provided valuable data concerning the driver’s physical state and loss of consciousness prior to the crash sequence. The above summaries, paraphrased from the NTSB brief, do not provide the full detail contained within the reports, but are included to provide context to the agency’s safety recommendation and our response, discussed below.
NASDPTS agrees with and supports this recommendation. Since the first National Conference (now “Congress”) on School Transportation (NCST) was convened in 1939, state directors of pupil transportation have been leaders of and parties to the congresses, now held every five years. The resulting standards documents, including the most recent 2015 edition of the National School Transportation Specifications and Procedures (NSTSP), have served as the primary guidelines for both school bus vehicle specifications and operational procedures used within the United States.
The 2015 NSTSP, published in October 2016, includes guidance and several references regarding onboard video systems, primarily relating to monitoring of student and driver behavior, and monitoring and recording security incidents. In addition the NSTSP includes Resolution A, adopted by the delegates to the Congress, as follows:
RESOLUTION A
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has worked with the sponsoring Associations of the NCST over the years in promoting safety within the School Bus Industry.
WHEREAS, on March 3, 2015, the NTSB issued the following SAFETY RECOMMENDATION to the sponsoring Associations of NCST (NAPT, NSTA, and NASDPTS) as well as the American Bus Association, the United Motorcoach Association, American Trucking Association, and the American Public Transportation Association.
TO encourage your members to ensure that any onboard video system in their vehicles provides visibility of the driver and of each occupant seating location, visibility forward of the vehicle, optimized frame rate, and low light recording capability. (H-15-2)
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the NCST adopt this Resolution on May 20, 2015, for the purpose of providing important data for accident investigations to enhance the safety of our school bus operations.
NASDPTS has notified its members of the publication and availability of the 2015 NSTSP as both a bound hard-copy and a free PDF download, and we have encouraged its use by states and local school districts when developing their bus specifications and operational procedures. We believe that it is important to remind our members directly about the 2015 NTSB Safety Report NTSB/SR-15/01, Commercial Vehicle Onboard Video Systems, and the supporting evidence released in the Anaheim report. NASDPTS emphasizes to states and local school districts the importance of properly specifying onboard video systems and ensuring they are functioning as designed.
We recognize there is more that can and should be done to encourage installation and use of video systems that perform optimally and include at least the features outlined in the NTSB recommendation. Several of the member companies within the NASDPTS Supplier Council, including the supplier of the system in the Anaheim bus, are manufacturers and sellers of onboard video systems for school buses. As part of our transmittal to state directors, we are asking them to advise us whether further guidance on this recommendation may be useful to them. We are seeking input from states on whether it would be useful to states and local school districts to involve them and their video system suppliers in collecting model specifications and procedures for the purchase, installation, and use of onboard video systems. If affirmed, NASDPTS will then post such information as resources on our website for ready availability by any party.
NASDPTS is copying this response concurrently to our state director members. We are also ensuring the NTSB receives a concurrent copy of our memorandum of transmittal to state directors.
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