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Transportation Safety Guide Available

June 27, 2006

Don't wait for an accident to focus your attention on student transportation risks.

A new publication, Safety in Student Transportation:  A Resource Guide for Colleges and Universities, analyzes the risks of various types of travel and offers many suggestions, sample policies and forms, and external resources for institutions to use to improve travel policies and procedures. Acknowledging that decisions about student travel must balance risk, convenience, and cost, and that institutional circumstances vary considerably, the guide provides multiple choices.

Road travel is covered extensively, including vehicle maintenance, driver qualifications, types of vehicles, and safe driving practices. Also discussed are policies that institutions might adopt to ensure safer air travel, and ways to protect the college or university from liability through waivers and contracts.

This project was undertaken by the American Council on Education, the National Collegiate Athletic Association, and United Educators Insurance, at the request of the National Transportation Safety Board. The NTSB was impressed with policy changes made by Oklahoma State University after a charter plane carrying members of the basketball team crashed in 2001.  

The report is available as a PDF on the NCAA Web site. Paper copies, with an accompanying CD containing supplemental materials and sample policies, can be purchased on the ACE Web site.