More than 50,000 school buses are being recalled across the U.S. including the possibility of some in Daviess County. The National Highway Safety Administration said several “Thomas Built” buses could increase the risk of children being hurt in a crash.
Jared Revlett, Pubic Information Officer for Owensboro Public School, said approximately 95 percent of their buses are Thomas buses, however, only about 13-16 of them fall into one of the four models listed on the recall.
“It is our understanding that the manufacturer will be notifying customers within the next two months if the buses they have purchased are part of the recall,” he said. “If they are, the repairs will be made free of charge. The recall does not officially begin until December, so it may be a few weeks before we know for sure if any of our buses are affected. Thankfully, we have not had any injury issues related to this recall at this time.”
Daviess County Public Schools Director of Transportation Downey Ward said Daimler Trucks North America LLC (DTNA) is recalling certain 2014-2020 Thomas Built Saf-T-Liner EFX, Minotour, Saf-T-Liner C2, and Saf-T-Liner HDX school buses equipped with SynTec S3B or S3C seats.
“The seats may have been manufactured with styrene blocks that may not provide sufficient impact absorption in certain specific areas around the steel seat frame of the back support,” he said.
Ward said they are waiting on confirmation that the recall applies to the DCPS but they do have 52 of the model/year of the buses described.
DTNA will notify owners, and dealers will install additional impact material between the re-bond back and the vinyl back cover to increase the amount of absorption, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin on Dec. 2, 2019.
