As the new school year begins for the county and city schools, parents can rest comfortably knowing their children are being transported on safe and reliable school buses.

Only weeks ago, the Indiana State Police (ISP) troopers and motor carrier inspectors completed a rigorous examination of the county’s school buses. Recently, Master Trooper William Robertson of the ISP Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Division released the results of the annual inspections for Dearborn, Ohio, Ripley, Switzerland and Decatur Counties.

The annual inspections of the buses throughout the state include 54 different inspection criteria, ranging from appearance to mechanical condition. The buses were either rated with an approval (no defects), rejection (minor defects) or are placed out-of-service (major defects). Any bus that did not pass the initial inspection had all defects repaired and re-inspected before transporting children.

During the initial 2008 inspection, Greensburg Community Schools received a 100 percent pass rating, in which all buses passed the first inspection.

“We’re very pleased with it,” Greensburg schools superintendent Tom Hunter explained. “We take bus safety very seriously. We don’t let the little things become big things, and that’s the key.”

Hunter noted that the buses used by Greensburg are never used beyond the 12-year mark. He attributed the excellent performance of the buses to the bus drivers themselves and the corporation’s director of transportation Leon Johnson.

“Our bus drivers don’t rely on the inspections to find the problems,” Hunter said.

The county schools also fared well in the inspections considering their fleet is nearly twice that of Greensburg schools. Forty-eight buses were inspected for the county schools, with 14 of them needing repairs. Once tuned up, the buses were re-inspected and passed.

Assistant superintendent of Decatur County schools Connie Nobbe noted that many of the buses do not run during the summer, and bus inspections are necessary to make sure nothing has occurred mechanically that could make the buses unsafe.

The end of summer and the beginning of the school year means school buses will be prevalent throughout the community. The ISP encourages early morning and afternoon commuters to prepare for the extra traffic as well as stopping when approaching a stopped school bus.

Nobbe also cautioned that county roads can be especially dangerous due to the shifting altitudes and tricky curves.

“If the bus arm is out, stop,” she said.

She also encouraged rush hour drivers to be aware of buses approaching railroad tracks as the rail traffic in the area is likely to steadily increase in the future.

Once commuters are acclimated to the buses on the roadways once again, attentive drivers and healthy buses should get kids to and from school safely.