This fall, Hamilton County will reimplement mandatory school bus emergency evacuation drills with students, a safety precaution that has been neglected for an indefinite period of time.
Although bus drivers have been trained in emergency evacuation processes, no physical drills with students were conducted last year, said Mike Quinn, Chattanooga manager for Durham School Services, which supplies approximately 80 percent of drivers in the Hamilton County school system. Durham drivers will now be required to practice emergency evacuation drills with elementary students twice per year, said Quinn.
Hamilton County Department of Education Transportation Supervisor Ben Coulter said independent contract drivers will also likely be required to perform the drills with elementary students. Emergency evacuation drills are not required by law in the state of Tennessee and Hamilton County Department of Education officials are unsure of when the drills were most recently required by drivers.
No drills will be required with middle and high school students or before field trips, said Quinn.
Venita Jensen, former Durham School Services of Chattanooga Safety Committee member and Hamilton County bus driver for four years, said during her tenure with the county she physically practiced an emergency evacuation drill with other drivers once, but never with students.