The last thing a parent should have to worry about as their children head back to school is their safety when they get on the school bus. That is why the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission (MVC) has partnered with school districts across the state to allow parents access to the safety report cards on every school vehicle in the state.

School Bus
Flickr User Bill McChesney
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"Last year alone, we conducted 61,000 inspections and re-inspections on more than 24,000 school vehicles at more than 1,300 locations statewide and every one of those inspections covers 180 items on the school bus," said Ray Martinez, the chief administrator of the MVC. "That includes certifications that the bus driver is qualified to drive the bus and medical certificates as well. In addition to the regular inspections, we and the State Police also conduct unscheduled spot inspections on the vehicles."

Now, a School Bus Report Card is available 24 hours a day.

"All you have to do is go to our website, enter your child's bus number and you can see the safety record of that bus. You can check all the buses in your district and across the state," said Martinez. "It gives you an idea of how well the buses are stacking up against each other and against buses in other districts as well."

While, the School Bus Report Card does allow access to personal driving records of school bus drivers, the MVC does make those checks.

"When we go to Boards of Education across the state, we check the records for each of the drivers that are there to make sure that they are currently qualified to drive school buses, that their medical certificates are on file, that they aren't currently suspended or in danger of being suspended," said Martinez.

 

 

 

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