[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 94 (Tuesday, July 18, 2006)]
[House]
[Pages H5327-H5328]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       SUPPORTING THE GOALS AND IDEALS OF SCHOOL BUS SAFETY WEEK

  Mr. MARCHANT. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to 
the resolution (H. Res. 498) supporting the goals and ideals of School 
Bus Safety Week.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                              H. Res. 498

       Whereas approximately 480,000 yellow school buses carry 25 
     million children to and from school every weekday;
       Whereas America's 480,000 school buses comprise the largest 
     mass transportation fleet in the country, 2.5 times the size 
     of all other forms of mass transportation--transit, intercity 
     buses, commercial airlines, and rail--combined;
       Whereas during the school year, school buses make more than 
     50 million passenger trips daily carrying the Nation's 
     future--our children;
       Whereas school bus transportation is eight times safer than 
     traveling in a passenger vehicle and is the safest form of 
     ground transportation available;
       Whereas school buses meet higher construction, equipment, 
     and inspection standards than any other vehicle, and school 
     bus drivers meet higher qualification, training, and testing 
     standards than any other drivers;
       Whereas according to the National Academy of Sciences, an 
     average of 820 students are killed annually during school 
     transportation hours, but less than 2 percent of them are 
     school bus passengers;
       Whereas despite the industry's best efforts, accidents 
     still happen;
       Whereas an average of seven school-age passengers are 
     killed in school bus crashes each year, and an average of 19 
     children are killed each year getting on and off the bus;
       Whereas most of those killed are children aged five to 
     seven, and most often those children are killed in the area 
     immediately surrounding the bus--either by a passing vehicle 
     or by the bus itself;
       Whereas School Bus Safety Week, which is celebrated in more 
     than 40 States and sponsored by the National Highway Traffic 
     Safety Administration (NHTSA), was created to remind all 
     students of the best ways to get on and off the bus in an 
     effort to enhance the safety of the Nation's children;
       Whereas School Bus Safety Week, which dates back to 1966, 
     also recognizes the hard work and dedication of school 
     transportation personnel, especially the many school bus 
     drivers who ensure a safe journey each and every day; and
       Whereas School Bus Safety Week, celebrated the third week 
     in October, promotes awareness through local and State poster 
     and speech contests, lessons utilizing school bus safety 
     community awareness kits, and other activities built around 
     themes that raise awareness of school bus safety issues: Now, 
     therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the House of Representatives supports the 
     goals and ideals of School Bus Safety Week.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Texas (Mr. Marchant) and the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Clay) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Texas.


                             General Leave

  Mr. MARCHANT. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks 
and include extraneous material on the resolution under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Texas?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. MARCHANT. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I might 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H. Res. 498 offered by the 
distinguished gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Duncan). This resolution 
would support the goals and ideals of a National School Bus Safety 
Week.
  In our Nation, approximately 22.5 million children ride school buses 
to and from school each day, which accounts for 54 percent of all 
students attending grade school. In fact, the more than 440,000 public 
school buses travel approximately 5 billion miles each year, comprising 
the largest mass transportation fleet in the country, 2\1/2\ times the 
size of all other forms of mass transportation, and according to 
statistics, representing the safest form of highway transportation.
  Even so, according to the National Highway Transportation Safety 
Administration, each year for the past 11 years, an average of 35 
school-age children have died in school bus-related traffic accidents. 
This is why it is vital that drivers, mechanics and supervisors, as 
well as parents and children, observe certain rules and regulations 
pertaining to all the operations of school bus safety.
  The week of October 15 through October 21 will educate children 
around the country about school bus safety precautions with special 
activities such as poster contests to help bring the valuable 
information to our Nation's children.
  I urge all Members to come together to encourage the educational 
importance of a School Bus Safety Week by adopting H. Res. 498.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. CLAY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, students are at a much greater risk while traveling to 
and from school than at any other time during their school day. During 
the 1997-98 school year, about 800 children from the ages of 5 through 
18 were killed during normal school transportation hours, while 
traveling by passenger car, foot, bicycle, public transportation or 
school bus. Although school buses are the safest form of highway 
transportation, they are not fail-safe.
  The most dangerous part of the school bus ride is getting on and off 
the school bus. Fatalities that occur when students board and exit 
school buses account for approximately three times as many school bus-
related fatalities than for fatalities that occur when the school buses 
are occupied. The area around the bus when the bus is loading and 
unloading is called the danger zone. The danger zone is comprised of 
the areas outside of the bus where the children are in the most danger 
of not being seen by the driver. It is the 10 feet in front of the bus 
where the driver is too high to see a child, 10-foot-long blind spots 
that run along both sides of the bus, and the area behind the school 
bus.
  The goal of National School Bus Safety Week is to ensure safe, 
efficient, economical and high-quality transportation for school 
children on their trips to and from school and school-related 
activities. This is certainly a goal we all can support, and I urge my 
colleagues to do so.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. MARCHANT. Mr. Speaker, I yield as much time as he may consume to 
my distinguished colleague, the Congressman from Tennessee (Mr. 
Duncan).
  Mr. DUNCAN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Texas for 
yielding me this time and for managing this resolution and for his 
comments, as well as those of our distinguished colleague from 
Missouri.
  Mr. Speaker, last October, I introduced House Resolution 498, which 
supports the goals and ideals promoted by School Bus Safety Week. This 
bill certainly has bipartisan support with 62 cosponsors. Also, all 
three national school bus associations are in support of this 
resolution: the National Association of Pupil Transportation, the 
National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation, and 
the National School Transportation Association.
  America's 480,000 school buses comprise the largest mass 
transportation fleet in the country, 2\1/2\ times the size of all other 
forms of mass transportation, transit, intercity buses, commercial 
airlines, and rail combined.
  During the school year, school buses make more than 50 million 
passenger trips daily. School Bus Safety Week, which is celebrated in 
more than 40 States and sponsored by the National Highway Traffic 
Safety Administration, was created to remind all students of the best 
ways to get on and off the bus and of other ways to enhance the safety 
of our Nation's children.

[[Page H5328]]

  According to the National Academy of Sciences, an average of 820 
students are killed annually during school transportation hours, but 
less than 2 percent of them are school bus passengers. Most of those 
killed are children aged 5 to 7, and most often those children are 
killed in the area immediately surrounding the bus, either by a passing 
vehicle or occasionally by the bus itself.
  While school bus transportation is eight times safer than traveling 
in a passenger vehicle and is the safest form of ground transportation 
available, unfortunately, accidents still happen. An average of seven 
school-age passengers are killed in school bus crashes each year, and 
an average of 19 children are killed getting on and off the bus each 
year.
  Many of our communities honor School Bus Safety Week through local 
and State poster and speech contests, lessons utilized in School Bus 
Safety Community Awareness kits and other activities built around 
themes that raise awareness of school bus safety issues.
  It is my hope that our children will be safer than ever before, and 
that our children will safely get on and off and travel on these school 
buses each day, and that drivers in our communities will be mindful of 
the laws designed to protect our Nation's school bus passengers.

                              {time}  1500

  This is a business dominated by individuals and very small 
businesses. Most school bus drivers are stay-at-home moms, retired 
people or others who need some part-time income. They do a really 
outstanding job and provide a great community service in helping keep 
our school children safe, and H. Res. 498 will help promote and improve 
that safety even further.
  Madam Speaker, I urge passage of this resolution.
  Mr. CLAY. Madam Speaker, I want to thank my colleagues, Mr. Marchant 
of Texas and as well as Mr. Duncan of Tennessee, and urge a favorable 
vote of passage of the School Bus Safety Week. I have no further 
requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. MARCHANT. Madam Speaker, I urge all Members to support the 
adoption of H. Res. 498, and I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mrs. Emerson). The question is on the motion 
offered by the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Marchant) that the House 
suspend the rules and agree to the resolution, H. Res. 498.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds of 
those present have voted in the affirmative.
  Mr. MARCHANT. Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the 
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this question will 
be postponed.

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