School Buses - The Safest Transportation for Students

Operating from Hackensack, New Jersey, John Leckie Inc. is a school bus company that serves students in over 50 towns in Bergen County. For about 59 years, John Leckie Inc. has hired and trained responsible drivers that adhere to a rigorous safety program in order to ensure that the company’s buses are the safest way for students in Bergen County to get to school.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), students who take buses to school are eight times safer than those who ride in a car or walk. This is due, in part, to the fact that school buses are designed for child safety. The bright color, high-back seats, large mirrors, flashing safety lights, and attached stop sign all alert other drivers to the presence of schoolchildren. Additionally, school bus drivers are required to have special safety training, a commercial driver's license (CDL), and certain endorsements that vary by state.

Lap and shoulder seat belts were made available on school buses in 2002 and gained the support of the NHTSA in 2015. Certain states, including New Jersey and New York, require seat belts on school buses.

New Technology Improves Safety and Performance of School Buses

Family-owned and -operated, John Leckie, Inc. has served the northern New Jersey area for more than 58 years. John Leckie, Inc. is responsible for transporting students to more than 70 schools across the region, relying on a highly maintained fleet of light- and medium-duty buses.

New and innovative technologies are increasingly affecting how school buses are monitored, tracked, and repaired. For example, school bus tracking systems offering scheduling, location, and drop-off information are being tested on a wide-scale basis, and new software that utilizes constantly updated mapping data is creating the most efficient school bus routes in an effort to save time and money. 

Electric buses that can operate from 50 to 100 miles on a single charge are becoming a more affordable, popular alternative due to available grants and subsidies offered by many states to offset the higher upfront costs, and safety sensors that trigger alarms when a child darts in front of or behind the bus are increasingly being adopted.