PRELIMINARY INVESTIGATIONS TO EVALUATE THE BUS DRIVER'S SAFETY PERFORMANCE

Abstract

This study investigates the potential to decrease the number of accidents and at the same time increase the safety for an important constituency in the community (riders of school buses). This potential improvement is examined by studying and tracking two school bus drivers four times and scoring their performance in the Greater Fredericton Area, New Brunswick, Canada. This work is a primary evaluation of the vehicle (trucks and buses) drivers’ performance at regions that have high commitments of traffic rules. This method can be used to evaluate trucks and buses drivers’ performance in Iraqi cities. The researcher aimed to monitor and track the drivers of school buses while they transported students to and from school in order to study drivers’ compliance with speed signs and other traffic signs. By using statistical analysis (Minitab Program), the researcher found real evidence that the drivers’ performance needs to be improved. This study used two of the most recent technologies in order to obtain accurate results regarding drivers’ performance during their driving. First was the Global Positioning System (GPS) device. Second was Geographic Information System software Arc GIS program. The combination results from integrating GPS/GIS technology, the researcher suggests several conclusions and recommendations to improve the safety in order to improve their driving performance.