News

Ask The Monument:Is there a problem with MSAD 15 busses?

The Monument: I have received information that the SAD 15 Transportation department has had difficulties over the last few weeks in that 4 school busses lost their brakes while operating. One, although empty, purportedly skidded over RR tracks before eventually stopping.

SAD 15 Superintendent
None of our bus brakes have failed. There are no reports that a bus skidded over RR tracks. The air brakes used on buses and other large vehicles are a fail-safe design. A loss of air pressure locks the affected wheels. When you see large double tire skid marks on the road that trail off into the ditch you are seeing what happens when the air pressure falls below a safe level the brakes automatically lock the tires.

Because we take safety very seriously, when this was raised as a safety concern we pulled all of the buses into the garage for a brake inspection. Upon further review of the circumstances surrounding the complaints we determined that the railroad track stop at the bottom of Depot Hill was the prime trouble area. The Commercial Drivers License Manual (CDL) recommends descending a hill in the same gear required to climb the hill.


This allows the diesel engine to assist the bus in maintaining the proper speed. We determined that drivers were instead riding the brakes down the hill and then trying to stop at the bottom. The drum brakes on the bus get overheated and fade when used like this. We have worked to reinforce proper technique on descents. More work will be done on this topic in the near future.

The Monument: And that even though the busses were inspected over the weekend one more bus lost their brakes after the inspection.

SAD 15 Superintendent
During the brake inspection, one bus had a left front slack adjuster that initially seemed reluctant to adjust. After working the adjuster, the action seemed ok. The driver was informed of the action taken and asked to bring the bus back if the adjuster acted up in any way. The driver noticed that the left front wheel seemed to have less braking force than desired, so he brought the bus back and the entire assembly was replaced. The drivers are all trained to inspect these adjusters as part of the required pre-trip inspection.

The Monument: If so, how often are the busses inspected?

SAD 15 Superintendent
The brakes on the buses are checked and adjusted if necessary when the buses are brought in every 1,000 miles for a lube job.

The Monument: Who inspects them?

SAD 15 Superintendent
We inspect the brakes as mentioned above. We also perform two complete State inspections per year on all of the buses.

The State Police also inspect all of our buses twice a year. Some of the inspections are planned in advance and some are unscheduled.

The Monument: Does the fact that the Transportation Director on leave have any impact on the level of safe service in that Department?

SAD 15 Superintendent
No, the level of safe service has stayed the same or gone up over the last month. We have more than doubled the scheduled mechanic time per week. In addition, we are farming out work over the vacation week to make sure that the buses are in the best possible condition. We continue to have a safe transportation system.