DODDS-Europe reviewing policies after student is struck by school bus
KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany — DODDS officials in Europe are reviewing school bus transportation policies and procedures after a fourth-grader got off her school bus and was hit by another school bus while crossing the street in Sembach.
The 9-year-old DODDS-Europe student, who school officials declined to identify due to privacy laws, was crossing in front of the bus she had exited at an off-base stop when she was struck by another bus carrying DODDS students, according to school officials and a news release from Kaiserslautern police.
Friday’s incident, at the intersection of Hauptstrasse and Triftstrasse, was the third time a DODDS-Europe student was struck by a vehicle at or near a school bus crossing off base in two years, said DODDS-Europe spokesman Bob Purtiman. The other incidents occurred near Ramstein Air Base in March 2010, and near Aviano Air Base, Italy, in January 2010, according to Purtiman. No serious injuries were reported.
In Europe, Department of Defense Dependents Schools has contracts with host-nation commercial companies for school transportation services, according to the DODDS-Europe website.
German police and DODDS-Europe officials would not disclose the condition of the student injured Friday; she was transported to Westpfalz hospital in Kaiserslautern, police said. Purtiman said he could not say where the student attended school, also due to privacy concerns.
Purtiman said Tuesday that school officials were still gathering information on Friday’s incident, a process that would include a review of school bus transportation policies and procedures.
“We’re looking at all the circumstances surrounding this accident,” he said.
“The biggest concern we have is for that young student that’s in the hospital right now.”
A German police spokesman said the incident is under investigation.
A DODDS-Europe online school transportation guide informs parents that, in Europe, traffic is not required to stop for loading and unloading school buses.
“American children,” the document reads, “must follow this life-saving rule: NEVER CROSS THE STREET IN FRONT OF OR BEHIND THE BUS.”
Vehicles on base are required to stop when children are getting on or off of school buses, Purtiman said.
A 7-year-old DODDS student was hit by a car in September 2010 in Misawa city, Japan, after leaving her school bus. Like countries in Europe, Japan has no law prohibiting drivers from passing a school bus that’s loading or off-loading students.
Rainer Flatter, a Kaiserslautern police officer, said, in Germany, when a school bus has its blinking lights on, other drivers may only pass the bus at a speed slow enough not to endanger anyone. He did not know whether the bus from which the girl exited had its blinking lights on.
