Fatal Stop (1977)

[Music] [Applause] portrait of a school bus cbum but with such horrifying results this particular school bus crash happened 25 minutes ago and because it's night and the police and ambulance Es are still arriving no one knows at just this moment how many of bus 32s passengers are injured or [Music] [Applause] dead here but it's already abundantly clear that there are some [Music] fatalities where's the driver there's the driver un hurt helping the best he can but burdened with the mind sickening knowledge that very probably the responsibility for this scene was his tomorrow the newspapers will describe this tragedy in detail tonight the details need no describing got internal bleeding got internal beding suck be over here portrait of a school bus driver on his day off his name is Charlie Shilling and he's been driving for 16 years without even scratching the paint as they say in his district he likes his job and he's good at it but he's glad for the day off because frankly five days of transporting students are enough for anyone and anyhow Charlie has a bad cold in the head they got to fight on the hands so come on let's ride but Charley Schilling's day off is about to go down the tubes as they say hello oh hi Rick oh come on this supposed to be my day off can't you get somebody else take that trip okay okay I'll be down in about a half hour maybe man the way I feel I should have told him no straight out oh well that's what I get for answering the phone anyhow I guess I can use the extra money and so it begins a never to be forgotten day to be entered on the transportation schedule as Faro's football trip hi Charlie oh hi sorry to Rous you but like I said one is sick yeah yeah yeah so am I so what's with this football trip going to take the football team over to far o and I'm sorry to tell you you're already late okay what's the bus 32 you better get a move on the team's waiting before over by the gym okay but I've never driven 32 before and I've never been to phro football field before don't worry about it bus 32 is just like yours the coach will show you the way now can you get a hustle on for me okay portrait of a school bus an immensely complicated piece of equipment in which thousands of Parts must work together correctly if the bus is to provide reliable and Safe Transportation but school buses get a lot of use and use leads to where and where leads to worn out a condition that faces tires brakes headlights warning lights directional signals and the thousands of other bus components case in point Charlie Schilling's left front tire which has developed a serious problem and when Charlie spots it on his pre-trip inspection he'll want it replaced immediately beginning before the engine is even started with an under the hood examination of water and oil levels and the condition of hoses and belts pre-trip inspection is required by regulation and Common Sense by every school bus operation in the land it is unquestionably one of the most critical tasks that school bus drivers perform frequently printed on a thorough check sheet which lists all items in sequence pre-trip inspections may contain as many as 80 separate items Each of which must be checked before every trip on which students will be carried brakes horn defroster and the list continues itemizing every bus component the proper condition and functioning of which is essential to bus safety emergency door but no list however comprehensive and welld devised is any better than the driver who uses it and if just one item is overlooked the consequences this can be catastrophic hey Charlie get a move on the principal's on the phone the coach is getting sore you can tell the coach he all right all right I'm [Music] coming what's a coach and teachers know about driving a bus anyhow takes time to do this stuff right and so Charlie Shilling continues his already flawed pre-trip inspection and bus 32 leaves the transportation yard for the last time oh um incidentally observing as you have what's happened so far what comments do you have about this football trip to farro Char where the heck have you been I got a late notice coach that's all behind schedule let's go load up hi Mr shill oh hi Connie how are you portrait of the passengers excited impatient anxious worried about the game ahead alog together a fairly typical football team on the way to an important game big game huh right okay Coach yeah we're ready let's go okay passengers in their seats bus on the road but today its thousands of Parts aren't working together correctly to provide Safe Transportation and later when the question is asked who could have prevented the tragedy the answer on many lips will be Charlie Shilling which introduces the all important subject of driver responsibility including the professional responsibility for a scrupulous pre-trip inspection performed just as thoroughly the thousandth time as the first in order to find the one or more parts which might not be functioning properly but not all drivers are responsible nothing's ever wrong with my bus it was okay yesterday it just came out of the shop I'm late I just don't have time Maran checked it this morning excuses yes in fact words to Crash by even a factory fresh bus should be pre-ripped before it carries passengers because even new parts can malfunction and only one malfunction can cause a tragedy to many drivers it isn't just a question of whether or not a a directional signal is working but what might happen if it isn't working and at the risk of being thought over dramatic we we suggest that each and every item on the pre-trip checklist be thought of in terms of consequences the frightening list of what could happen if that particular item failed or malfunctioned the emergency door war and buzzer on my bus was broken but uh I didn't think it was important cuz I thought I could keep my eyes on the door but I was concentrating on the road and two boys started rough housing and one of them fell out gone near kill himself well the I knew the windshield wipers didn't work on my bus but I figured it hadn't rained in a long long time so I took the bus out and it rained what a cloud burst and no way can you drive in the rain without windshield wipers kind of embarrassing what happened to me I didn't check the gas gauge ran out of gas full load of kids on a rainy day in the middle of nowhere one of our buses had a loose seat nothing that seemed urgent to fix or anything but I had to make a panic stop one day and a little girl broke her nose a broken right turn signal cost us a few thousand in a lawsuit driver of the other car couldn't tell I was going to turn right and before the whole thing was over the other driver spent some time in the hospital and I almost lost my job well I've always had the idea that using a seat belt isn't that important but uh on this one trip I I had to Swerve hit a soft shoulder and I got thrown into the step well there was this one morning when I forgot to check the lug nuts on the front wheel before I got out of my parking place the wheel fell off some kids had figured that loosening enough would be a good Halloween trick funny huh that'll never happen again which introduces the subject of vandalism a costly and dangerous practice which increasingly plagues a lot of bus operations broken windows and slashed seat cushions dangerous fun with a fire extinguisher yes you know they happen but also sugar in the gas tank and they in the tires how would you like to miss that little booby trap on a pre-trip inspection if you'd like a personal anecdote listen to the driver who had his brake lines cut by vandals well U I was in a hurry to leave the yard and I didn't check anything very well and when I tried to stop at the stop sign boy I sailed right out into the street and up the driveway across from it so he returned for another bus which had the same problem and and as he sailed through the same stop sign for the second time he became convinced that a complete pre-trip inspection should include a thorough break test oh really tragic thing happened in the district across the river from us one of the drivers was in a hurry I guess and she forgot to adjust her crossover mirror so she couldn't possibly see the little girl getting her lunchbox room in front of the bus [Music] you see the school bus driving profession allows no mistakes none and the first place to prevent on the road problems is that all important pre-trip inspection as Charlie Schilling has been trained to do well you've heard our drivers talk about some consequences of sloppy pre-trip inspections but what are some other potential consequences and what constitutes a good pre-trip inspection bus at fars excitement in the air this is the day the day they worked so hard for and plan to remember always for fun and football it's a day they will remember for a school bus and its driver their friend Charlie Shilling you going to be rooting for us tonight Mr sh you bet Connie I'll be over just as soon as I secure this bus okay see you later you bet and so miles from home Charlie finishes securing his bus secure in the knowledge that everything is a okay but everything isn't a okay and this is the day that Charlie Schilling will scratch the paint one of the best ways known to bus drivers not to scratch the paint is that all important pre-trip inspection mirrors clean and properly adjusted emergency exits check for proper operation in opening and closing check vacuum test thanks check turn signals right and left front and rear check tires for condition and pressure and the list continues because the pre-trip ritual can never be left a chance whether the inspection takes place in the busy yard or at home but isn't the responsibility for putting safe buses on the road a team operation involving manufacturers mechanics and transportation supervisors as well as drivers yes it is all right yes we as manufacturers as the other manufacturers try to build the safest bus we can for our children my job is to put the safest buses on the road possible how can I do that if the drivers don't ride them up and tell me what's wrong with them Andy we seem to have a problem problem we've got uh some kind of a strange noise up front you can't tell for sure well there's a lot of times and most of times that I'd rather get out myself and drive that bus and see or feel it myself because until you really know or feel you hard to pick up a problem that a driver has with it all right there there we're picking it up a little bit can you hear it yeah yeah I think I got a dick a supervisor dealing with professionals I feel like this pre-trip inspection is the driver's most important function of the day but while the team is behind the wrench or the phone or the desk it's the driver who ends up behind the wheel and if there's trouble or tragedy it's the driver who's always there when it happens uh before I ever leave the bus yard if there's anything wrong with the bus the mechanics know about it immediately we check out our bus each time before we leave the yard we're encouraged to write down specific problems that may be wrong with our bus not only is it important to check out the bus and to know that it's in good shape to make the trip it's also important for the bus driver to preest himself to know if he's ready to make the trip because out on the road Anything Can Happen a pre-trip inspection for drivers to a kind of self-inspection to answer the question am I ready to get behind the wheel yes because the driver is an even more complicated piece of equipment than the bus and good as the bus may be it's no better than its driver is today sick today taking medication today especially angry or upset today preoccupied with serious personal problems although I'm not ill very often I feel it is quite important to let my supervisor know when I'm not feeling well and being a professional I would never take advantage of the situation being ready to drive has to do with taking medication too I think most people realize there are certain medications that can make driving unsafe and if my doctor ever prescribes medication that could make me unsafe behind the wheel of my bus no way am I going to take that chance well if a driver comes in angry or upset emotionally uh it's kind of a human tendency to hide this or try to but we found that if we talk it over with our supervisor it's much and we do not send a driver out or we don't go out as a driver uh if we have an emotional upset or we're angry about something bus drivers like everyone else have family problems but if they bring them to work with them their mind can't be on their job their mind's at home as a supervisor my greatest Prime concern is the safety both for the equipment and the drivers now I personally want to be out here to look at the drivers make sure they've got the right attitude and that things are going to go well during the day I've always told my drivers that if they don't really feel honestly ready to drive they should tell me now they're professional so they'd never take advantage of that but well there's just no way that I'd send a driver out if that driver didn't feel that he or she was really ready which brings us back to Charlie Schilling and the far Oaks football trip hey Danny Boy you did it great oh girls you were beautiful it was your team did it we did it inside the bus the characteristic confusion of a winning [Applause] team on the left front wheel an uncharacteristic condition approaching the kind of consequence that will affect the lives of everyone on [Applause] board okay okay okay settle down settle down settle down yeah yeah you won that was great but if I'm going to get you home safely you're going to have to keep down the noise just a little bit okay passengers in their seats bus on the road but tonight the mood is different because the number one team is enjoying the ride of football teams everywhere to be excited about its most important Victory almost home and with only a few miles left to go it finally [Music] [Applause] happens my God Charlie what happened we blow a tire oh boy that was close you're not kidding well I want to see if I can get this thing out of here all right it's hung up I can't get it out what's the matter with it I don't know it's stuck or something so often It's a combination of things that makes the difference like right now with bus 32 stopped on a curve at night Charlie Schilling faces the Final Consequence of a sloppy pre-trip inspection when he opens the cover of his reflector box I don't have any reflectors you're kidding where are they they're not here [Music] well as they say that's it a setup for catastrophe which will involve everyone connected with bus 32 and the driver of that big Interstate rig just now closing the gap down the highway oh God no not much else to say at just this moment Charlie Schilling is the only one at the scene who could even describe what happened but later an awful lot of questions will be asked about that fa Oaks football trip and the reasons it never returned home when the national Transportation safety board investigates the crash they'll fill out a lot of forms having to do with the driver the vehicle and the environment if you had to fill out those forms what things would you say caused that crash [Music] 69 Grand [Music] k [Music] [Music] h [Music] 22 [Music]