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Contractor TCT briefs board on bus accidents, driver monitoring and camera program
Summary
Tri-County Transportation (TCT), the district's contractor, presented multi-year accident data, explained use of Lytx in-cab monitoring and a driver coaching score, and described camera reliability, training, and monthly safety meetings; the board requested annual reporting.
Representatives of Tri-County Transportation (TCT), the district’s contracted transportation provider, briefed the school board on accident statistics, safety training and the vendor-supplied driver-monitoring system designed to reduce at-fault incidents.
Amanda Horvath (director of operations for TCT) and other TCT staff described the company’s safety program, including monthly safety meetings for drivers, daily safety messages, and a telematics/AI platform TCT called Lytx that monitors driving behaviors (speeding, hard braking, distracted driving) and generates driver coaching scores. TCT staff said the system issues in-cab alerts and creates a record for progressive coaching; they described a company-wide threshold process that has been lowered over time (earlier threshold 100, then 75; currently 50 with a plan to reduce to 25) to tighten standards and prompt more coaching and retraining.
TCT presented a three-year accident list that it supplied to the board. Board members asked whether accidents were concentrated among repeat drivers; TCT said only three drivers had two accidents each over the three-year span and two of those drivers remain employed. A board member observed that recorded at-fault accidents rose slightly from 11 in 2023 to 12 in 2024, while non-at-fault incidents were roughly steady (8 in 2022, 8 in 2023, 7 in 2024). TCT emphasized that a large share of incidents are collisions with deer and said it instructs drivers to avoid risky swerves that could injure passengers.
TCT outlined how Lytx footage and telematics are used after incidents: the company reviews video with drivers, uses the footage for coaching or retraining, and monitors repeat infractions. An official described the practical challenge of interior hard-drive cameras on buses: temperature and vibration can cause failures; TCT said they inspect cameras during service and will upgrade camera systems as the fleet is replaced (contract requires updated camera tech as 50% of fleet is renewed). TCT staff said every district vehicle is equipped with a camera and the driver’s coaching score “follows” the driver if they switch vehicles.
Board members asked for annual reporting. The board’s representative said the district should receive a yearly summary of accidents and safety metrics; TCT agreed to provide periodic updates and said it typically attends two board meetings annually to review safety information. No disciplinary or contract action was proposed at the meeting.
