Officials disagree on bus driver concerns

HERMON – When it comes to school bus driver performance, the head of the Hermon Town Council and the head of the school district’s transportation department don’t see eye to eye.

This week, Larry Dearborn, director of transportation and maintenance for the Hermon School Department, defended his bus drivers’ performance after councilors raised concerns last week during a regular council meeting.

At that meeting, councilors said that some drivers speed up too quickly and stop abruptly, were seen talking on cell phones while driving and speeding.

Council Chairman Stanley Chapman said some bus drivers don’t wait for riders to be seated before moving forward and that he clocked a bus driver last spring doing 62 mph in a 45 mph zone on the Annis Road with children still in the bus.

Not every bus driver is exhibiting poor habits, according to Chapman, who said this week he’s noticed that women drivers tend to wait for children to be seated, while men, apparently too anxious about tying up traffic behind them, aren’t as patient and don’t wait for the children to be seated.

“To me, traffic be damned,” said Chapman, who said he sees the problem every day his elementary and middle school pupils get on the bus.

Councilors asked the town manager to forward these concerns to the school department, with Chapman saying this week that previously he’s tried to reach school officials, but he’s never gotten a response.

Reached this week, Dearborn pointed to a 30-year track record – and more than 1 million miles traveled – without a child requiring medical treatment as testament to the abilities of Hermon bus drivers.

He said there haven’t been many complaints received about the drivers, and those that are received tend to come from some of the same people.

As for specific council concerns, he said bus drivers are legally required to wait for children to be seated, but that what happens oftentimes is that the children sit in one seat and quickly decide to move to a different one.

School buses also come with mechanical governors that limit their speed, although Dearborn didn’t know what the limit was.

He also thought that some speeding concerns may be a perception issue, because buses, being large, may look as thought they are speeding.

“We aim to get the kids to the school safely, not as fast as we can,” said Dearborn, who added that he informed drivers of the council’s concerns at a meeting last week.