title: Emergency and Disaster Preparedness of School Transportation Staff and School Buses in the United States: Compliance With Recommendations for School Transportation Safety.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of the study was to determine the compliance of school transportation staff and school buses with recommendations for the safe transportation of children to and from school and school-related activities.
  
  
  METHODS
  An electronic questionnaire was distributed to school transportation staff represented by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters during the 2013-2014 academic year.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Analysis was performed on 558 completed questionnaires (13% usable response rate). Responders had previous training in first aid (89%), basic life support (28%), and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (52%). Seventy-eight percent of school buses in our sample had restraint devices and 87% had seat belt cutters. Responders reported the immediate availability of the following on their bus: communication devices (81%), first aid kits (97%), fire extinguishers (89%), automated external defibrillators (1%), and epinephrine autoinjectors (2%). Thirty percent of responders have had no previous training in the management of emergencies such as trouble breathing, severe allergic reaction, seizures, cardiac arrest or unresponsiveness, and head, neck, or extremity trauma. Thirteen percent of responders are unfamiliar with or have had no previous training on protocols regarding emergency shelters and community evacuation plans in the event of a disaster.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Variability exists in the compliance of school transportation staff and school buses with recommendations for the safe transportation of children. Areas for improvement were identified, such as educating school transportation staff in the recognition and initial management of pediatric emergencies, ensuring the presence of restraint devices, increasing the immediate availability of certain emergency medications and equipment, and familiarizing school transportation staff with designated emergency shelters and community evacuation plans.
authors.affiliation: From the *Department of Emergency Medicine and Pediatrics, Penn State Hershey Medical Center/Penn State Hershey Children's Hospital, Hershey, PA; †Penn State College of Medicine; and ‡Department of Pediatrics, Penn State Hershey Children's Hospital, Hershey, PA.
authors.forename: Robert P
authors.initials: RP
authors.lastname: Olympia
authors.forename: Christopher
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Weber
authors.forename: Jodi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Brady
authors.forename: Susana
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ho
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D004189:Disaster Planning / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D004190:Disasters; D004630:Emergencies; D004632:Emergency Medical Services / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D019983:Guideline Adherence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D018986:Motor Vehicles / Q000592:standards*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012574:Schools / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States