Tennessee School Bus Crash Demonstrates the Need for Comprehensive Emergency Preparedness Plans and training in the National Incident Management Syste

Twenty-five students from the Washington County, Tennessee School District have been transported to hospitals following a school bus crash.  Students from David Crocket High school were injured yesterday afternoon when some of the bus wheels went off of the edge of the road causing a crash.  The school bus driver was also transported to the hospital due to concerns about chest pains she was experiencing. 

While American school bus drivers have a superb safety record in relation to other forms of transport for students, incidents where large numbers of students are injured in a crash do sometimes occur.  In addition to good training and policies to help prevent crashes, school transportation officials should develop comprehensive crisis plans that can address these types of challenging incidents.  This type of incident also demonstrates the importance of training in the National Incident Management System (the NIMS) for school and pupil transportation employees.

About Michael Dorn

Michael Dorn serves as the Executive Director of Safe Havens International, a non-profit school safety center. The author of 27 books on school safety, Michael’s campus safety work has taken him to 11 countries over the past 34 years.