#13Investigates: Houston County bus drivers at fault for majority of accidents since Jan. 2016
State records show Houston County school bus drivers have been blamed for 60 accidents since January of 2016, more than any other Central Georgia county.
A history of accidents
Our #13Investigates team learned through open records requests that some Houston County bus drivers have a history of accidents but remain on the job.
During recent months, #13Investigates filed several requests with the Houston County Board of Education about its overall bus safety.
Since a Houston County 6-year-old died after injuries in a bus accident in January, we've been taking a closer look at the safety of your children on the way to and from school.
During the past two years, at least 10 Houston County drivers have been in accidents they caused and in other accidents all while keeping their jobs.
Some parents say it makes them uneasy.
For moms Alexis Rubenstein and Maureen France the school day starts the same almost every day.
They meet at the bus stop to watch their kids board the bus taking them to Lake Joy Elementary promptly at 7:48 a.m.
For Rubenstein, it's an act of practicality.
“It's really a schedule issue. Yes, my husband and I's work schedule, and our other kids go to a different school,” Rubenstein explains in her friend’s dining room.
Both say they feel safe putting their kids on the bus.
“Yes,” says Rubenstein.
“I do, with this bus driver, yes,” adds France.
Records obtained through #13Investigates open records request found that from January of 2016 through February of 2018 there were more than 3,800 accidents across the state.
Houston County school buses were involved in roughly 97 accidents, one other accident involved severe weather and a driver whom drove over some downed limbs, which led to a broken window.
That total averages more than one for each week that school's in session.
When we showed the two moms the numbers they were taken aback.
“Really? Wow, that's surprising,” says France on the patio of her home.
“Yes. I wouldn't have thought it was even close to that,” Rubenstein continued.
“I didn't know that,” France adds.
School districts are required to notify the state of Georgia about every bus accident and report whether their driver was at fault.
Of those nearly 100 Houston accidents, state records show authorities blamed the bus drivers for roughly two thirds of them, the highest number in any Central Georgia county.
Bibb County bus drivers were at fault for five accidents out of 111, according to those same reports.
Houston County bus drivers were blamed for 60.
In fact, #13Investigates found that 12 Houston bus drivers were found at fault for bus accidents, but also were involved in other accidents since January of 2016.
Of those 12, 10 are still driving for the County, according to a list of the County’s active drivers the Board of Education provided in early March.
Rubenstein and France said it concerned them.
“I mean, it does a little bit but I would hope that they're looking at each individual accident. Like she said if it's a tree branch, 'Oh, OK,'” France says.
“It would bother me if it was negligence or something that showed they were being careless, as opposed to something small,” Rubenstein says while examining the numbers.
So what do the reports show?
What kind of accidents are being reported and how serious are they?
The accidents vary from the very minor to the severe, with injuries and inoperable buses.
For example, one February 2016 reported accident occurred when a driver was pulling up a bus ramp and became distracted, striking a pole. Only the side mirror hit the pole and no injuries were reported, but the bus driver was blamed for the accident and it was reported.
Others were much more serious.
A different December 2016 accident occurred when a bus driver was waiting at a two-way stop intersection. The bus driver felt he had time to cross the intersection even though a car was coming, according to the report.
The car hit the bus and major damage was reported along with an injury to one passenger and to someone in the other vehicle, according to those same documents. There were 53 children on the bus at the time and the bus driver was blamed for the accident.
The driver of that bus is no longer employed.
Who is driving your kids to and from school?
That begs the question, who is still driving your kids to and from school?
Since 2016, there are six Houston drivers who've been found at fault for more than one accident. That hasn't happened anywhere else in Central Georgia.
Of those six, four are still driving, according to a County active driver roster.
Houston County also had four accidents in that time where a person was injured and the bus driver was found at fault.
Three of those drivers are still active, according to the same roster.
Rubenstein and France say they like their kids' bus driver, but know the trust it takes to put their children behind someone else's wheel.
“Realistically, when you put your kids on the bus, you're putting them into the bus driver's hands and if they're not paying attention or they're not putting everything into it, then your child is vulnerable,” Rubenstein says.
France told #13Investigates that the Houston County Board of Education should take a new look at whom drives their buses.
“I think they just need to reevaluate everything and literally look in to every single one and unfortunately, we can't have major accidents and have bus drivers still working,” France says.
What is the review process for drivers after accidents?
#13Investigates tried repeatedly to speak with the Houston County Board of Education about their policies pertaining to accidents, driver employment and the review process.
Instead, #13Investigates received this email from spokeswoman Beth McLaughlin.
“Under advice of our legal counsel, we are not discussing any and all topics related to bus accidents. This includes related personnel policies and the transportation department in general.” – McLaughlin on April 3, 2017.
Board of Education Chairman Fred Wilson said over the phone that the decisions on who to fire and hire are made in personnel sessions, which are not public.
He also said they take recommendations from the Superintendent and hire the most qualified people.
No other board members would discuss the issue, answer our requests to speak or agree to an interview.
Those state accident records do not include the January 29, 2018 accident that killed 6-year-old Arlana Haynes.
But state bus records show that the driver in that case, Shalita Harris, had not been involved in any previous accidents.
Harris worked for the County for just three months. She now faces a vehicular homicide charge in that wreck.
The Haynes family is also suing both Houston County schools and Harris. Their lawsuit claims the school district is at fault for "hiring and retaining an unsafe driver."