We’re improving safety programs

The 17,000 dedicated team members of Durham School Services fully understand the trust parents place in us to safely transport their children.

We’re devastated because that trust was broken in Chattanooga, Tenn., on Nov. 21, when a tragic accident involving our bus and driver took six children from their families far too soon.

Since then, we’ve searched for answers. Today, there are important facts everyone should know:

First, our driver was licensed by Tennessee; had passed rigorous company, federal and state screening requirements; completed 60 hours of training; and was qualified to drive.

Second, our bus had recently passed state inspection.

Third, we have no record of receiving some of the wellpublicized complaints about our driver, including handwritten notes by parents and students. We continue to investigate; clearly communication could have been better.

Unfortunately, we can’t undo what happened, but Durham is investing millions of dollars into accelerating the rollout of three programs in- tended to prevent accidents like this from ever happening again.

By the end of 2017, every school we serve will have direct, immediate access to Durham through a cloud-based system. It will instantly flag complaints so they can be promptly addressed.

Within two years, all 16,000 Durham buses will be equipped with smart cameras that automatically record both the driver and the road each time they sense unusual driving, giving us another avenue to promptly identify and correct problematic driving.

And, because we now have more data than ever before, we will appoint a second safety executive, reporting directly to me, to lead a dedicated team to continuously review all available data. They will identify and correct potential issues before they become actual problems.

Durham cannot ease the grief of the families or the Chattanooga community. But we will do all we can to ensure others do not have to experience the same grief.