September 9, 2005

EAST LANSING. The Michigan State Police Motor Carrier Division announces that their vehicle

safety inspectors conducted a comprehensive equipment safety inspection on 17,718 school

buses during the 2004-2005 school year, up from last year by 346 buses. This year 85% (15,130

buses) passed, up from 83% last year and down slightly from 85.92% in 2003.

"School bus transportation managers continue to demonstrate a commitment to school bus safety

which translates into a safer pupil transportation environment for Michigan’s school children,"

stated Capt. Robert R. Powers, commanding officer of the State Police Motor Carrier Division.

Vehicle Safety Inspectors "red-tagged" 1,981 school buses representing 11% of the state’s fleet.

This represents a 1.5% drop compared to buses red-tagged last year (12.5%, 2,181 buses). A

red-tagged bus is immediately placed out-of- service and cannot be used to transport pupils until

the defect(s) are repaired.

Vehicle Safety Inspectors identified 607 (4%) school buses of the state’s school bus fleet that

were "Yellow-tagged," approximately the same percentage as last year (744 buses, 4%).

Vehicles identified with less serious safety defects are given a yellow-tag which requires that the

defects be repaired within 60 days.

Complete inspection results for Michigan’s 1,069 public and private school bus fleets (up from

1,049 last year) can be found on the Michigan State Police web site www.michigan.gov/msp.

The Michigan State Police will be awarding a Certificate of Excellence to each school district that

achieved a 100 percent pass rate on the first inspection. A total of 252 schools will be receiving

the certificate this year, up from 190 last year. An additional 67 schools will be recognized for

achieving a 95%-99% pass rate on the first inspection, up from 59 last year.

The Pupil Transportation Act (P.A. 187 of 1990) mandates the Michigan State Police inspect each

school bus annually. There are thirteen vehicle safety inspectors statewide who conduct the 198-

point safety inspections.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

Contact Lt. David Ford, MSP-Motor Carrier Division, 517-336-6449.