Senate & Assembly Transportation Committees to Hold Joint Hearing on School Bus Safety Monday

Discussion Raised in Light of Tragic Bus Incident in Paramus Last Month

(TRENTON) – Senate Transportation Chairman Patrick Diegnan and Assembly Transportation Chairman Daniel Benson announced Wednesday a joint hearing to receive testimony on school bus safety prompted by public concern raised by the recent tragic incident in Paramus.

“The tragic bus accident last month has raised many questions about school bus safety,” said Senate Transportation Committee Chairman Patrick Diegnan (D-Middlesex). “We need to understand fully what happened, how it happened, and then most importantly, how to prevent such a tragedy from ever occurring again. And we need to do this while the images are fresh because we cannot lose our sense of indignation over the loss of the life. We must have answers. We owe that to the families of the victims and we owe that to every parent who sends their child to school.”

“Thousands of students board school buses every morning trusting that they are safely on their way to school,” said Benson (D-Mercer, Middlesex). “The recent tragic school bus accidents have raised questions regarding seatbelts and bus safety. The only way to get the right answers is to invite the experts to the table and find the solutions that would make our buses safer for our children.”

The committees have invited the following guests:

• Assemblywoman Lisa Swain (D-Bergen, Passaic)
• Assemblyman Christopher Tully (D-Bergen, Passaic)
• National Transportation Safety Board
• NJ Motor Vehicle Commission
• NJ Department of Education
• American School Bus Council
• School Bus Contractors Association
• Traffic Safety Coalition

The committee will meet on Monday, June 18 at 10 a.m. in Committee Room 6, First Floor, State House Annex, Trenton, NJ. Audio of the meeting will be live streamed at: http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/media/live_audio.asp.