Beaumont Gears Up for School Bus Safety "Roadeo," June 25
FACT: According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 58% of child fatalities during normal school travel hours were in cars driven by teenagers. 23% of such fatalities were in cars driven by an adult. Kids riding on school buses accounted for less than 1% of such fatalities. Learn more at American School Bus Council.
To help bring awareness to school bus safety, Beaumont gears up for the School Bus Safety “Roadeo,” to be held at Ford Park as part of the Texas Association for Pupil Transportation (TAPT) 43rd Annual Conference & Trade Show June 24-29, 2016.
“Every day millions of American students are transported across millions of miles safely and ready to learn,” says Marisa Weisinger, Executive Secretary for Texas Association for Pupil Transportation. “Far too often, only school bus accidents and negative issues make the news. It is very important for the community, parents & school administration to know there are efforts being made nation-wide to make student transportation as safe as it can be.”
Nearly 1,000 attendees will gather at Ford Park Event Center for TAPT 43rd Annual Conference and Trade Show to hear from nationally known speakers including: Mike Martin, National Association of Pupil Transportation; Peggy Burns, Education Compliance Group; Richard Lewis, Jr. PhD, University of Texas at San Antonio and others.
The trade show will be held inside Ford Park Exhibit Hall from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Sunday, June 26 and will feature roughly 100 vendors and school bus manufacturers. Courses for TAPT’s Professional Certification Program will be offered throughout the event along with annual workshops and certification classes for Texas Association for School Bus Technicians (TASBT), which is designed for school bus mechanics, fleet supervisors and shop foremen.
“A media favorite is our School Bus Safety ‘Roadeo,’” says Weisinger. “We conduct 2 roadeos – one that exemplifies safe driving skills, loading & unloading safety, rail road crossing and other skills in a 72 passenger bus. The other is a Special Needs Team Safety Roadeo that illustrates safe transportation of our students with special needs. Wheelchair securement, knowledge needed to transport students with disabilities and other safe driving skills are showcased.”
The roadeos will take place at Ford Park on Saturday, June 25 starting at 7:00 a.m. Roughly 15 teams of school bus drivers and attendants from throughout the State of Texas will compete in the Special Needs Team Safety Competition and as many as 60 school bus drivers will compete in the conventional and transit 72 passenger bus roadeo. The media is invited.
Host hotels for the conference are: MCM Eleganté, Holiday Inn Hotel & Suites and Courtyard Marriott. Online registration is open until June 4, 2016. For more information, please contact Marisa Weisinger, Executive Secretary at (866) 561-2121, marisa@tapt.com.
About Texas Association for Pupil Transportation (TAPT):
Founded in 1972, TAPT’s mission is to promote safe and efficient student transportation for Texas school children to and from school and on extra-curricular trips. TAPT is a non-profit association founded exclusively for charitable and educational purposes. TAPT encourages the exchange of ideas to improve and enhance safe operational standards regarding school transportation. Learn more at tapt.com.
