Safety In School Transportation
Safety is critical to the services we provide, and we believe that proper safety is an ongoing effort. Our drivers receive annual training that includes classroom learning along with behind-the-wheel instruction, as well as in-service training and additional educational opportunities.
We perform regular safety audits at our facilities, reviewing and reinforcing safety policies and procedures with our team members. We implement secure, digital platforms for our driver screening and compliance processes to systematically evaluate candidates and to ensure employee credentialing is always up-to-date. We hold mandatory monthly safety meetings and support a variety of safety campaigns and initiatives throughout the year.
As a partner with Texas schools and families, we will never compromise the care or safety of our passengers.
Safety In School Transportation
Safety is critical to the services we provide, and we believe that proper safety is an ongoing effort. Our drivers receive annual training that includes classroom learning along with behind-the-wheel instruction, as well as in-service training and additional educational opportunities.
We perform regular safety audits at our facilities, reviewing and reinforcing safety policies and procedures with our team members. We implement secure, digital platforms for our driver screening and compliance processes to systematically evaluate candidates and to ensure employee credentialing is always up-to-date. We hold mandatory monthly safety meetings and support a variety of safety campaigns and initiatives throughout the year.
As a partner with Texas schools and families, we will never compromise the care or safety of our passengers.
Driver Training
Thorough and professional training is critical to a driver’s confidence in their job. Each driver we employ completes annual training using the industry-recognized program, The Driver Training Course. This is a comprehensive system covering everything a bus driver needs to know, while preparing them to manage their passengers with the utmost safety and care.
It is our goal to hire school bus drivers and transportation staff who share our values of compassion, safety, and customer service, and we provide our employees with training of the highest level. We believe that starting each day with a familiar face is an important step in the education process, with drivers who are compassionate and confident in the safe management of their school bus. Our drivers receive sensitivity training for working with special needs students, learn bullying prevention and awareness methods, undergo regular drug and alcohol testing, and have their driving records reviewed on a regular basis.
Student Safety
We offer an in-class educational program to students led by GoldStar bus drivers and school officials to teach students about school bus safety. Our program covers topics such as safety outside the bus, Danger Zones, safely crossing the street, school bus evacuation plans, and much more. We distribute activity books, have a Question and Answer session, and provide students with information they can take home to share with their parents and caregivers.
Double Check for Sleeping Children
To ensure that no child is ever left unattended on one of our vehicles, our drivers are required to park their bus in a secure location and perform a complete Child-Check procedure at the end of every route, every time.
This process entails walking the full length of the bus to look in, around, and beneath every seat while keeping in mind that a stray backpack or jacket may be a sign that a child is asleep – or hiding – nearby. Many of our vehicles are equipped with an electronic passenger reminder system, and we provide videos, training, vehicle placards, and other specialized signage to support the Double Check for Sleeping Children initiative.
These are potentially life-saving measures that every driver is required to do at the end of every route, every time, and we ensure that our team members are using all resources available to keep our passengers safe.
Know the Danger Zones
According to the NHTSA, the school bus “danger zones” are the areas on all sides of the bus where students are in the most danger of not being seen by the driver. Typically, this is thought of as the ten feet in front of the bus (where the driver may be seated too low to see a child), the ten feet on either side of the bus (in the driver’s blind spot), and the area behind the bus.
The leading practices to reduce the risks of students in danger zones include:
- Explain what the Danger Zone is for areas around the school bus
- Teach students the proper street crossing procedures and safety precautions
- Ask all backpack and purse drawstrings, cords, or straps be tucked away
- Drivers count how many students leave the bus and track their location before pulling away from a stop
Vehicle Safety & Maintenance
The safe transportation of our students depends not only on our team members but on the reliability of the vehicles we operate. Onboard vehicle technology, safety and compliance systems, routing and scheduling programs, and fleet maintenance software are all innovations that we have invested heavily in over the years to ensure we are providing the safest service possible when transporting our students.
Our rigorous maintenance standards are monitored in a customized fleet management software that allows our technicians to schedule maintenance, record work performed, and report on the details of each vehicle in our fleet in real time. This system ensures each vehicle remains in compliance and safe for our customers.
The impact of technology is far reaching. It reverberates across all aspects of our business to enhance services, improve operations, and lower costs. From the innovative safety and communications equipment on our buses to cutting-edge routing systems and sophisticated cloud IT services that keep our employees connected, GoldStar remains ahead of the curve in technology and fleet innovation.