State Police Inspect 1,700 School Buses

It didn’t matter to Trooper Brian Davies that the school bus he was inspecting last week was brand new.

State police troopers out of the Moon Township barracks inspected nearly 1,700 buses this summer, but Davies was taking no chances with this new 2012 International bus right off the assembly line.

“I try to look at every bus the same, whether it’s brand new or 10 years old,” Davis said, noting a recent inspection revealed a new bus had a broken brake line. “It can be brand new and have problems or be 10 years old and in perfect condition.”

In all, five troopers at the barracks inspected 1,687 buses from around Allegheny County this summer and found 445 violations, mostly malfunctioning light bulbs or other minor problems that are easily fixed. Six buses failed and had to go back to their garages to be repaired, according to state police statistics.

Because of the large number of schools in Allegheny County, state police in Washington, Belle Vernon and Uniontown assisted with another 1,000 buses.

Davies said their work is imperative because of the precious cargo that rides in the thousands of buses each school day.

“It’s very important and assures the safety of the children riding the vehicles,” he said.

On this day, Aaron Silverman, who is the fleet manager for the W.L. Roenigk bus being checked out, assisted the trooper with the inspection. Silverman hopped behind the wheel and worked the controls as Davies barked out orders to flip on turn signals, open the doors and press the brakes.

“Go ahead. Start it up,” Davies ordered.

He then slowly made his way around the bus checking for problems and then jumped into the cabin to check each seat. Later he opened the hood to check the steering and braking mechanisms before sliding underneath the bus to take one last look. The inspection took about 15 minutes.

Silverman, who has been assisting with the inspections for nine years, called it “stressful” because bulbs can burn out at any time and other unexpected problems can arise. He said it’s a relief when his company’s nearly 1,000 buses and vans pass inspection.

“I think it’s a good thing,” Silverman said. “It keeps everyone honest.”

Besides the summer inspections, trooper will be doing spot checks on the buses during the school year.