This post was submitted from the VBCPS Office of Safety and Loss Control, which is overseen by Richard Ponti, director.

A significant expense for almost any school division is the cost of commercial automobile insurance.  One way of maintaining or lowering this expense is to prevent or minimize motor vehicle crashes.

Virginia Beach City Public Schools (VBCPS) has established standards for defensive driving in the Transportation Operations Manual.

A vehicle crash is defined as an unintended collision of one or more motor vehicles with another, a stationary object or person, resulting in injuries, death and/or loss of property. When a vehicle crash occurs, the events leading up to the incident, which includes the causes and responsible conditions, the crash and the post events, are carefully evaluated.

Defensive Driving can be defined as driving to prevent incidents in spite of the incorrect actions of others and adverse driving conditions, such as light, weather, road, traffic, vehicle condition and the driver’s physical and mental state. Driver errors are one of the factors that are considered along with the concept of incident preventability.

What is a Preventable Crash?

The National Safety Council (NSC) defines a preventable crash as one in which the driver failed to do everything that they reasonably could have done to avoid it. In determining preventability, the question is asked, was the vehicle driven in such a way to make due allowance for the conditions of the road, weather, traffic and to also assure that the mistakes of other drivers did not involve the driver in a collision. The fact that a driver, who becomes involved in a vehicle crash, is not legally charged doesn’t mean that the driver couldn’t have avoided it.

What is a Non-Preventable Crash?

A non-preventable crash is one in which the driver did everything reasonably possible to prevent the crash. Some non-preventable crashes include the following circumstances:

• Struck in rear by other vehicle
• Struck while legally and properly parked
• These are Non-Preventable if the crash occurs:
  – While proceeding in proper lane of traffic at a safe and legal speed
  – While waiting to make a turn from a proper lane
  – While stopped in traffic due to conditions or in compliance with a traffic sign or signal

VBCPS Transportation Crash Review Board (TCRB):  

The Transportation Crash Review Board meets monthly to review the circumstances behind all Department of School Division Service vehicular crashes involving school board owned or leased vehicles. The Board reports its findings to the involved party in a Notification Letter. The board follows the guidelines established by the National Safety Council to determine whether each crash was preventable or non-preventable.

Current board members:

• Steve LePock, Occupational Safety and Loss Control Specialist (Chairperson)
• Keith Acosta, Police Officer with City of Virginia Beach
• Larry Ames, Director of Custodial Services
• Jett Bell, Assistant Director of School Plant Services
• Majorie Brannan, School Bus Driver Representative
• Gary Koelling, Warehouse Coordinator of Supply Services
• Gary Ponton, Transportation Supervisor
• John Smith, Director of Food Services
• Bonnie Wolf, Transportation Training Supervisor

Preventability involves making a fair and honest decision. A fair decision may only be reached when all the facts are uncovered and complete details of the crash are obtained. The decision of preventability is made on the basis of what the driver did or did not reasonably do to prevent or avoid the crash. An indication of preventability occurs when there is a citation issued or evidence of a violation of the law.  However, if there is no violation or citation, it does not make the crash non-preventable.  After all the information and reports have been obtained and reviewed, the crash is determined to be preventable or non-preventable.

If the TCRB determines that the incident was non-preventable, no corrective action is required.  If the TCRB determines that the incident was preventable, the employee must attend training that will reinforce safe driving concepts. A list of school bus driver corrective actions can be found in the Transportation Operations Manual. All preventable crashes can be appealed to the TCRB up until three months after the date the Notification Letter is received. After that date, no appeals will be accepted.

Drivers sometimes have difficulty in understanding why their incident was preventable when the other party was deemed at fault and cited with a traffic violation. The concept of defensive driving is explained in detail to newly hired VBCPS drivers, and is periodically reminded that they are expected to make defensive driving a priority when they operate their vehicle.

VBCPS works to create awareness of not only the importance of preventability, but also the defensive driving procedures involved. Providing adequate training as well as holding drivers accountable for preventable crashes will not only reduce the vehicle crash frequency and our insurance premiums, but will allow employees to go home safe and sound each work day.