WASHINGTON, D.C. — The National Transportation Safety Board is using a school bus wreck in West Virginia as an example of why alcohol detection systems should be put in its school buses.
The board cited the March 2024 school bus wreck in Calhoun County in its release.
The wreck, caused by bus driver Jeff Brannon driving while under the influence of alcohol, seriously injured three students and impacted the other 16 on the vehicle. The school bus experienced a rollover crash near the Calhoun County Middle School because Brannon swerved off the road and tried to overcorrect.
Brannon’s blood alcohol concentration was 0.161 grams per deciliter when authorities tested him.
Brannon was convicted last year and sentenced to 22 to 110 years in prison.
The NTSB reported that there have been many similar instances of school bus drivers operating vehicles while under the influence. The board cited a Stateline study that showed 118 school bus drivers around the U.S. had been cited or arrested for DUI while on the job.
The NTSB issued a formal recommendation to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for vehicle-integrated alcohol detection systems to be put in place before drivers can move vehicles:
“Active breath test systems are connected to vehicle ignitions to form alcohol ignition interlock systems. With such technology, before starting a vehicle, the driver is required to blow into the interlock system. If alcohol over a certain threshold is detected by the interlock system, the vehicle will not start. These systems must be added and integrated into vehicles as aftermarket devices and must be regularly calibrated.”
The NTSB added a recommendation for school buses to add better seatbelts. The report recommends buses to have passenger/shoulder belts to better protect children on the bus.
The NTSB said many of the injuries in rollover crashes across the country, including in the 2024 Calhoun County wreck, were caused because kids were tossed around the interior of the bus with no belt to keep them in place.
Seven states currently require lap/shoulder belts on school buses, according to the NTSB — Arkansas, California, Illinois, Iowa, Nevada, New Jersey, and Texas.