Missouri State Highway Patrol checking buses during spring break

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW) — The Missouri State Highway Patrol is using a school break to inspect safety issues on buses that carry students.

Officials are making sure lights, emergency exit doors and seat belts are functioning. Last year, the patrol inspected more than 11,000 buses and other school vehicles statewide for defects.

“Once a year, the Missouri State Highway Patrol inspects every school bus in the state of Missouri and we’re at that time of year here in Troop H where our motor vehicle inspectors are hard at work doing just that,” said Sgt. Shane Hux with the Missouri State Highway Patrol.

Patrol officers aim to inspect buses when they are in operation when school is in session to get a true reflection of how they are maintained. Their comprehensive safety inspections cover everything on the interior and exterior of a bus including brakes, steering, electrical and all required safety equipment.

“We’ll have about 85 to 90 buses inspected over the next four days,” said Todd Berry, senior shop manager at First Student. “Our goal, along with the Missouri State Highway Patrol, is to make sure we have the safest vehicles possible with the highest standards.”

During the 2024 annual bus inspection for the St. Joseph School District, 83 buses were inspected. Of those, 85% passed inspection, 13% were ruled as defective and only 1.2% were taken out of service.

If a bus is marked defective, operators have 10 working days to get it fixed and reinspected by the highway patrol but students can still be transported on it. Buses marked out of service are not allowed to be used at all.

However, state troopers assure parents that buses with even the slightest issue become a priority for service.

“These buses are in actually very good condition and this year is very good for them,” Berry said. “We just got 45 new, brand new, Thomas C2s for this location so the St. Joe Public Schools have a very good fleet this year.”

While full school bus inspections occur annually, emergency exits on buses, including windows and doors are things that have to be inspected every 90 days.

“When I was inside checking the emergency exits, those were actually out,” said Missouri State Trooper Jason Lawrence. “One actually fell apart here not so long ago because it was so old so we need to make sure those are being checked frequently.”

The patrol will finalize inspections on buses used by the SJSD on Friday and expect other individual school district results to be complete by June.