LoginSafety by Choice: Why School Districts Should Embrace OSHA Standards
RENO, Nev. — School transportation departments may not be legally required to comply with Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standards but ignoring them is a risk few districts can afford to take, explaiend school transportation safety expert Jeff Cassell.
Speaking Monday at STN EXPO West, Cassell urged transportation leaders to voluntarily adopt OSHA safety practices for maintenance facilities, technicians and even drivers, arguing that the true measure of safety is not regulatory compliance but systematically removing risk before it leads to injury, litigation or loss of life.
“The loss that costs the least is the one that was prevented,” Cassell told conference attendees.
For school district transportation departments facing staffing shortages, aging facilities and evolving vehicle technology, Cassell said implementing OSHA-based procedures is one of the most effective ways to reduce operational risk while protecting employees and students.
Drawing on his experience as former vice president and corporate risk manager for Laidlaw, where he oversaw insurance, claims and safety programs across roughly 480 locations in North America, Cassell recounted how a mechanic’s death beneath a collapsing school bus exposed widespread deficiencies in shop safety.
Following the fatality, OSHA inspections resulted in significant fines, but Cassell said the larger lesson was that many maintenance facilities simply lacked consistent safety procedures.
“We asked who was OSHA compliant, and at least half argued it didn’t apply because they were exempt,” he said. “Legally, many school districts may be exempt. That doesn’t mean it’s the right way to operate.”
Unlike private school bus contractors and other businesses, government-operated transportation departments generally are not subject to federal OSHA enforcement, though some states have their own workplace safety requirements. Cassell emphasized that districts should view OSHA not as a regulatory burden but as a proven framework for preventing injuries.
The Definition of Safety
Central to his presentation was a simple definition that shaped the remainder of the session.
“Safety means freedom from risk,” he said. “If you reduce risk, you’re safer. If you remove risk, you’re safe.”
That philosophy shifts attention away from simply reacting to accidents and toward identifying the conditions that create them.
Cassell argued that risk typically stems from two sources: Unsafe equipment and unsafe behaviors.
Faulty jacks, damaged lifting equipment, unsecured ladders, worn electrical cords and improperly stored chemicals all create unnecessary hazards, he said. But he estimated that most workplace risk results from what he called “conscious and deliberate unsafe behaviors,” including skipping procedures to save time, working beneath unsupported vehicles, failing to use spotters when backing buses, or ignoring lockout/tagout requirements.
“The rewards for taking risks are minimal and short-term,” he said. “The consequences can be permanent and catastrophic.”
Throughout the presentation, Cassell reinforced his message with real-world incidents, including mechanics killed beneath buses, propane explosions that severely burned employees, tire explosions that permanently disabled technicians, and injuries caused by high-pressure grease equipment.
He said each case, including one that occurred earlier this month in Pennsylvania when a bus rolled over a mechanic reportedly working on the brake line, shares a common thread: Established safety procedures either were absent or ignored.
Additionally, maintenance shops remain among the highest-risk environments in pupil transportation.
Rather than focusing on blame after an incident, Cassell encouraged transportation leaders to build systems that prevent errors before they occur.
That includes documented policies, annual refresher training, leadership accountability and regular facility inspections covering everything from housekeeping and fire prevention to hazardous materials, electrical systems, personal protective equipment and emergency response planning.
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Cassell outlined 26 OSHA subject areas applicable to maintenance personnel and three additional topics for drivers. He said the material can be effectively delivered through approximately four hours of annual training broken into manageable sessions.
Equally important, he added, is documenting that training.
“If something goes wrong, you can show you made the best effort to stop it happening in the first place,” Cassell said.
Leadership ultimately determines whether safety becomes part of an organization’s culture, he added.
“If it matters to the boss, it matters to you,” Cassell said, encouraging managers to establish clear expectations, enforce policies consistently and never allow unsafe shortcuts simply because operations are busy.
For transportation departments balancing budget pressures and operational demands, Cassell acknowledged that implementing comprehensive safety programs requires commitment. But he argued the investment is small compared with the financial and human costs of workplace injuries.
Whether OSHA enforcement applies or not, he concluded, the goal should remain the same.
“I’m a great believer in it,” Cassell said. “Whether it’s the law or not the law, you should be doing it.”
Written with the assistance of AI from a session transcript.
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