Accidents
All accidents involving children and other passengers on the vehicle, accidents occurring during boarding or leaving the vehicle and all vehicular accidents shall be handled as follows.
- As long as there are children on the bus, the attendant shall remain on the bus to ensure the safety of the passengers. If there is no attendant the driver should secure the bus, evaluate the passengers, and keep students calm.
- When the severity of the accident warrants, the driver will call 911 and request police and emergency medical service.
- The driver must notify the Contractor, who must notify by telephone, within fifteen minutes of the occurrence, school administrators and the OPT Hotline, 718-392-8855 (or such other telephone number as the Director shall specify in writing). The Contractor must provide the location, extent of the accident, and names of children and other passengers involved, with a description of their injuries, run number, bus number and schools affected.
- When requested by the school to do so, the Contractor shall assist the school administrators in contacting parents and providing them with information on their children. A log of these calls must be kept, showing the time calls were made, the number called, and the result of the call, including the name of the person reached and her/his role at the school or relationship to the child.
- As soon as possible upon completion of the run and always within 24 hours of each occurrence, the Contractor must enter the accident in the OPT Accident System and shall prepare accident reports for DMV, SED, NYSDOT, OPT and all applicable insurance companies. The Contractor must use appropriate forms, which must be sent to a designated staff member at the OPT, 44-36 Vernon Boulevard, Long Island City, NY 11101. (The Contractor shall retain a copy of accident report form MV-104 for its own files.)
Proper procedures must be followed to replace or repair the damaged vehicle, if applicable. Drivers must document the accident on their daily reports. Proof that these steps were taken must be provided to the Office of Pupil Transportation.
Accident Scene
When emergency responders arrive they will need help from the driver to understand exactly what happened, who was involved, and who needs immediate help. The driver needs to provide the exact number of passengers on the bus to the emergency responders and inform them of any children with special needs and the nature of those special needs.
The driver and attendant (if present on the vehicle) are never to leave the scene of an accident until their supervisor/OPT and law enforcement formally release them.
Maintain the Scene
The driver and attendant (if present on the vehicle) are to do the following: note any witnesses at the accident and point them out to the authorities; write down license plate numbers of all vehicles at the scene especially of vehicles involved in the collision; record the names and contact information of any potential witnesses that may leave the scene before the police arrive; and, as soon as possible, make clear and legible written notes of everything remembered about the accident.
Other Parties Present at Accident Scene
Concerned parents may arrive at the accident scene who may be frightened when they learn their child has been in an accident no matter how minor it may be. The driver is in charge of the accident scene until the authorities arrive. The driver is not to let parents or other parties get in the way. The driver should calmly reassure parents that their children are safe.
If approached by the media at an accident scene, the driver and/or attendant is to explain that their company policy does not allow anyone to comment.
The driver and attendant are not to discuss the accident with anyone other than law enforcement, their supervisor(s), or OPT personnel.
Medical Emergencies
If a child or other passenger is injured on the bus on the way to school or becomes ill enough to require medical attention, it is the responsibility of the Contractor to make sure that necessary medical attention is obtained. Liquidated damages will not be assessed for lateness due to a medical emergency.
The driver must notify the Contractor, who must immediately notify by telephone school administrators and the OPT Hotline, providing the location, name of the child(ren) and/or other passenger(s) involved, with a description of the illness, run number, bus number and schools/sites affected.
Parent Emergency Telephone Numbers
So that parents may readily be reached in the event of an emergency, the Contractor must maintain a current file of the name, address, disability, home telephone number, emergency telephone number and school of each disabled child receiving transportation. Upon registering at a school site, each parent/guardian is to provide the school with emergency contact information. Emergency contact information is to be made available by the school to the Contractor. This information consists of the name, address and telephone numbers of three persons (other than at home) to contact if there is some emergency concerning the child while on the school bus.
Disasters or Public Emergencies
In the case of a disaster or public emergency, the Contractor must notify OPT of the location of each contracted vehicle. The Director may order any vehicle to deviate from its assigned work to provide emergency service. All drivers must be instructed to call their dispatcher upon first notice of a large-scale or a localized emergency with information on their whereabouts and how they can be reached.
Breakdowns
- Breakdowns must be reported on the OPT web system within 15 minutes of occurrence.
- Proper procedures must be followed to replace or repair the broken vehicle.
- Schools and parents must be notified within prescribed time limits as shown below in the Time Table for Reporting Delays, and a log of these calls must be kept showing the time calls were made, the number called, and the result of the call, including the name of the person reached and her/his role at the school or relationship to the child.
- Drivers must document the breakdown on their daily reports.
- Traffic or other delays must be reported on the OPT web system within 15 minutes of occurrence.
- Schools and parents must be notified within prescribed time limits as shown below in the Time Table for Reporting Delays, and a log of these calls must be kept showing the time calls were made, the number called, and the result of the call, including the name of the person reached and her/his role at the school or relationship to the child.
Traffic or Other Delays
- Traffic or other delays must be reported on the OPT web system within 15 minutes of occurrence.
- Schools and parents must be notified within prescribed time limits as shown below in the Time Table for Reporting Delays, and a log of these calls must be kept showing the time calls were made, the number called, and the result of the call, including the name of the person reached and her/his role at the school or relationship to the child.
Time Table for Reporting Delays
Minutes of Time between Bus Delay and Required Notifications
| Breakdown | Accidents | Traffic (normal weather) | Traffic (bad weather) | |
| OPT | 15 via Web | 30 via phone | 15 via Web | 15 via Web |
| School | 15 | 30 | 15 | 15 |
| Parent A.M. child not yet picked up | 15 | 30 | 15 | 30 |
| Parent A.M. child on bus P.M. child on bus | 30 | 30 | 30 | 60 |
Emergency Plans
On a yearly basis, the Contractor shall submit to OPT its established emergency preparedness guidelines from an "all hazards" approach including, but not limited to, natural disasters (weather related), man-made acts of crime and violence, lost buses, mechanical issues, accidents, medical emergencies, etc.