ROANOKE TIMES

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, April 14, 1995                   TAG: 9504150038
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B-1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium


SCHOOL BUSES MAY GET MOTION SENSORS

In the aftermath of a fatal bus accident, the Roanoke County school system plans to test a new radar sensor system designed to detect the movement of children in front of, beside and behind buses.

Delco Electronics, manufacturer of the motion-sensitive devices, has offered to let the school system use two of the units free for the rest of the school year.

School Board member Jerry Canada said Thursday night that the new technology is designed to prevent accidents such as the one last month in which Shayla Worley, a Vinton kindergartner, was run over by the rear wheels of a bus.

The system has two radar sensors to detect motion, Canada said. One is attached to the front bumper, the other beneath the bus.

The sensors trigger an alarm to alert the driver to the movement of a child around the bus.

Worley was run over when she ran back to the bus after getting off and starting up the steps to her home, which is about 20 feet from the street.

Robert Woolwine, transportation supervisor for county schools, said at the board's first meeting since the accident that he would be glad to evaluate the system, but he will have to make sure that it is approved by the state Department of Education.

Woolwine said he can't put any safety devices or other equipment on the buses without the state's approval.

Board member Tom Leggette said that before the radar units are installed, school officials also must check to make sure they do not cause cancer or other health problems.

Canada said he understands that the radar system is being tested by other school systems. The units cost about $1,100 for each bus if a school system buys at least 50, he said.

Canada said the county's bus drivers have his confidence and he believes the county has a good bus-safety program. But he said drivers cannot control the impulsive nature of young children. The motion-detection system would help reduce the chance of an accident when a young child acts unexpectedly around a bus, he said.

Worley's death was the first fatal bus accident in the county's history.

"I have observed the school system for more than 30 years, and I think the track record for bus safety is outstanding," said Maurice "Buck" Mitchell, a board member. "It is extremely unfortunate that this happened."

Since the accident, more parents are meeting their young children at the bus to help ensure their safety, said James Gallion, assistant superintendent.

"We have encouraged this in the past, and we want to encourage it again," Gallion said.

Bus safety is part of the curriculum for pupils in kindergarten through the third grade, he said, and children are told repeatedly never to run back toward the bus after they have gotten off.

Chairman Frank Thomas said young children might have a short retention span on bus safety, especially during the early days of a school year when they have so much to learn. He said the safety training might have to be repeated to make sure that the children retain it.

Superintendent Deanna Gordon said that bus safety is a year-round priority for the school system.

Board member Michael Stovall said he believes the schools are doing a good job of teaching bus safety to children.

Stovall has a 5-year-old daughter in kindergarten. "When I ask her about



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