Some citizens are unaware that the WCBOE has a Transportation Division that manages the school system’s bus routes and transportation, of which they have a number of their own fleet vehicles that are used for facility maintenance, special education, food services, administrators, and passenger transport. Most of the transportation for our students are subcontracted to bus companies and independent owner-operators. If subcontractors were to receive moving violations while transporting our kids, nobody would never know. Such infractions could not be obtained from the records of the school. The exhibits in this article is limited to WCBOE vehicles and their drivers. Here are just a few examples below showing the speed on the left. Example: “47 in a 35”
You can download a copy of the speeding violations here. You can download a copy of the van and bus inventory here. You can download a copy of the general vehicle inventory here. You can download a copy of the fleet liability self-insurance certificate here.
You can see that some of the passenger vehicles and buses had multiple speeding violations. Of these violations, they were all caught by speed camera. Have you ever seen law enforcement pull over a speeding school bus? You most likely won’t, because many officers don’t want to deal with the political backlash for pulling over a passenger bus that operates for a municipality. Therefore, many turn a blind eye. Meanwhile, children are at risk. As a result, the identified speeding violations in this article only account for a fraction of such occurrences. We can only speculate that even more speeding violations have occurred with bus contractors and situations where observed violations have not been enforced. This is a problem of public safety. Who hasn’t witnessed a speeding bus? Some fly down the road quite often. Because of their size, they’re hard to miss.
Govt Covers for Govt !!!!
Should be disiplining the Drivers who speed NOT cover for them with Taxpayer Dollars !!! Illegal
I’ll bet Desmond Hughes is having a stroke knowing this information is out.
The whole operation under Hughes needs a audit and investigation. I am a # 2 male and I took the training from his staff of clowns “What a Joke”! Attitude towards Whitey was the order of the day. Packed up and head east to Worcester and its light years better.
not all buses speed
Well, ALOT DO & One is One Too MAny !!!!!
These tickets should be deducted from the drivers pay. Tax Payers are not responsible for these idiots transporting the children. Is there not a safety director that checks on these violations? Do they not observe Buses during their routes? Where is the accountability? Do they not check driving records? Do they not follow DOT CDL regulations / guidelines?
People need to be fired starting with the top down since they are responsible for everyone under them.
I was rejected for driving a School Bus since I had not taken the MD School Bus EAXMS even thou I was at the time driving a Tour Bus with all endorsements and more required for a School Bus endorsement. I had a CDL CLASS A license for 40 years with a clean driving record but yet they hire these idiots that probably never drove a School Bus or any large vehicle ever.
I am requesting a tax rebate that is given to Education from my taxes from day one of them paying these fines.
Good information. Perhaps a little more follow through on who, at the very end is paying for these tickets. Of more concern is what is happening to the drivers who are getting these tickets. Do they have to go through some kind of remedial course on safety and driving or what? Please find out the answers and report back on your findings. John E. Jrr.
Not here to defend speeding buses, vans, trucks or sedans operated by WCBOE. But some context might be useful.
One of the left side columns appears to show calendar years from 2015 to at least 2020 which would cover 6 years, meaning about 7 times a year a WCBOE vehicle was caught on camera above the speed limit. Multiply the number of vehicles in the fleet, and the number of trips each day and a violation every other month across the entire fleet seems less critical. I didn’t see any notation as to whether there were passengers, or how many. So it could be empty vehicles arriving to try and stay on schedule, or empty vehicles heading outbound to their next pick-up.
Could contracted buses or WCBOE vehicles be operating above the speed limit away from the cameras? Certainly possible but absent data from traffic stops or accidents, tough to say. Most of us are above the limit at some point during our daily travels but the speed and circumstances vary widely. We can all resolve to be more vigilant around schools and buses as a starting point. And no Texting behind the wheel!
Too much Quietly goes on with GOVT !!!!
Alot of BAD school bus drivers out there !!! That Never get Caught !!!
That transportation dept. at the board of education is a total joke! It is very poorly run. Time for replacement of head of transportation, namely Desmond Hughes.
Why in the world is taxpayer money being used to pay for bus driver’s speeding tickets? That’s pure bullshit. Let them pay their own tickets. I know it is hard to find school bus drivers now because of the caliber of kids they are hauling, but it is NOT the taxpayers obligation to pay their traffic violations.
Have seen plenty of Bad Bus Drivers in past !!!!!
How did Desmond Hughes get his job? Can you say “wife” What is his education? Does he have a college education? Should he even be in this position.
It’s a “no- brainer” that the drivers should be responsible for paying their own speeding tickets!
Here is some more quiet government goings on in Wicomico County. At the end of 2020 your county executive and your county finance director picked and chose who was to get 3 k bonuses for so called employees working thru the pandemic. This money was from the 20 million dollars Wicomico County was given thru the federal program titled The American Recovery Act. It was presented to the council and the C.E. and the F.D. were grilled over it with council saying many more departments worked thru the pandemic than just corrections, 911 center operators and operators at the sheriffs office. Vote passed with a 4-3 margin with Rino John laying down with the liberals again. My question to the acting C. E. and his F.D. is when are the other departments going to be compensated for there duty during the pandemic? Maybe John when Julie or Ernie gives your the boot you will wish you grabbed your set instead of relying on your F.D. to make your decisions.
Since our tax dollars were used to pay the tickets, all citizen fines from the cameras should be refunded to those of us who have paid. Clearly, the speed zones aren’t about safety or this would be taken more seriously.