ST. PAUL - School buses are among the safest vehicles on Minnesota roads, but more oversight would help keep children safer, traffic officials say.
Minnesota lawmakers on Monday heard from law enforcement and bus operators that small steps could be taken to limit problems such as mechanical failures and crashes caused by drivers' mistakes. The hearing came after at least two recent bus crashes in the Twin Cities area.
Some of their ideas are included in pending legislation, including prohibiting bus drivers from using cellular phones for personal calls.
An estimated 820,000 Minnesota school kids travel to class by bus, Education Commissioner Alice Seagren told the Senate Education Committee. School buses have a lower fatality rate than most other forms of transportation, she added.
Gary Botzek, whose Minnesota School Bus Operator Association serves school districts statewide, concurred.
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"They've got more armor than some of our vehicles in Iraq," he said of buses, which cost about $100,000 each.
Minnesota State Patrol Capt. Ken Urquhart said bus drivers are the most regulated drivers in the country and most abide by state law.
However, Urquhart said he wants lawmakers to consider making it easier for law enforcement to randomly check drivers' records and whether they follow basic driving laws.
"We've got to pay more attention to them," Urquhart said after the hearing.
There were seven fatal bus crashes in Minnesota in 2005, according to the Department of Public Safety.
There is no particular region of the state that records a higher number of bus safety problems, Botzek said.
Some lawmakers from rural Minnesota, where school bus routes are often longer, said safety concerns aren't an issue in their districts.
"I haven't heard anything," said Rep. Bud Heidgerken, R-Freeport, who sits on three House education committees.
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Sen. LeRoy Stumpf said student transportation costs are often a bigger problem for rural school districts than is bus safety. Stumpf, DFL-Plummer, is a member of the committee that heard testimony Monday. He suggested there may actually be fewer problems with bus drivers in greater Minnesota.
"Quite often the rural schools know a lot of the people they hire," he said.
Bus drivers sometimes are unfairly targeted when safety concerns arise, Sarah Greenfield said. Greenfield, representing a union that includes bus drivers, said school districts should consider driver experience when they contract for busing.
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Scott Wente works for Forum Communications Co., which owns the Bemidji Pioneer.
