By Raymond Schenk
We need to provide adequate ventilation to combat the COVID-19 virus but have to do so with common sense to preserve a decent comfort level for the passengers and without introducing new health hazards.
Apparently, many people have contacted our school district or the bus barn with concerns that not enough windows are open while our buses are carrying passengers. I understand their concern. However, a One-Fits-All-Scenarios Policy is neither possible nor appropriate. We need to take a differentiated approach that considers many variables:
Occupancy: How many passengers are on board? Are they dressed in accordance with the prevailing weather conditions? Are they athletes just coming from a competition and still sweaty?
Weather: Is it dry, cloudy or sunny, daytime or nighttime? Are there thunderstorms with dangerous lightning approaching? Do we have rain, ice rain, snow, blizzard conditions, high winds or other hazardous conditions?
Temperature: Is the outside temperature above 40 degrees Fahrenheit? Between 40 and 32? Below 32? Below 0? Remember how the windchill feels when standing outside in winter on a windy day! The drafts that enter the bus feels the same.
Roads: Are the roads dry, wet from rain or wet from melting snow mixed with road treatment chemicals? Remember how much water spray large vehicles can cause on the road in these conditions. Imagine how this tiny water droplets mixed with road treatment chemicals penetrate the bus and coat the passengers inside.
Speed: At what average speed will we be driving? It makes a difference whether we are driving on a regular daily school bus route at moderate speeds or on country roads at elevated speeds or on the interstate at high speeds.
Bus drivers must anticipate that some of these variables may change as we drive and plan accordingly. We cannot always stop whenever conditions change, especially not when driving on the interstate.
We have dedicated professional drivers at our bus barn who have the experience and training to drive children safely and comfortably to their destinations and are capable of making the right decisions about ventilation commensurate with the driving conditions. Many of our drivers are up in age and considered in the higher risk groups for catching COVID-19, so we also have a self-interest in this regard.
OPEN WINDOW RECOMMENDATIONS
The Vermont Agency of Education and the Vermont Department of Health have issued recommendations regarding keeping windows open on school buses. Regardless of weather, we’re required to maintain a constant airflow through the bus by having at least four windows open, the first and the last window on either side. The windows should be fully open. In case of inclement weather window openings can be reduced to prevent snow, ice, rain from entering. If window openings are reduced, additional windows should be opened and maybe also the rear roof hatch, weather conditions permitting.
Our buses have 10, 11 and 13 windows on either side depending on type and length of the bus. They can be opened in three stages: Stage 1 creates an opening of about 1 inch; Stage 2 about 5 inches and Stage 3 about 11 inches. Stage 3 is considered fully open.
State guidelines suggest fully opening the first and last window on either side. Depending on the length of the bus I prefer to open 4 to 5 windows on either side only to Stage 2 to provide about the same amount of ventilation but with more even air flow through the bus, while creating smaller individual openings in case of precipitation. This approach works OK with temperatures of 40 degrees Fahrenheit or above in dry weather and with moderate rain. Openings must be reduced when rain gets stronger or turns to snow or when temperatures fall below 40 degrees.
ADEQUATE VENTILATION?
How do you know that there is adequate ventilation? When all windows are closed and you have passengers in the bus, the inside of the windows fog up. The more passengers, the quicker windows fog up. Depending on weather and occupancy, if you open the right number of windows to the appropriate stage, the inside of the windows stay mostly clear. This should indicate that you have adequate ventilation in the bus.
The windows in the first and last row should be closed or opened to Stage 1 only, when road conditions are wet (especially when road treatment chemicals are being used), when it rains or snows heavily, or when there is water from melting snow or ice dripping from the roof. Keeping the first window next to the passenger door open can create another problem. There is a small rain gutter above the passenger door that deviates rain and melt water away from the opening. That water splashes against the first window when the bus is moving. If the window is open, that water will enter the bus and get the passengers wet.
During heavy precipitation with wind or when it is below freezing, it’s time to reduce the window openings. For every window opening you reduce from Stage 2 to Stage 1, you open two additional windows to Stage 1 until all windows in the bus are open at the Stage 1 conditions permitting you can also open the rear hatch.
As winter progresses and we see temperatures below zero, we should keep at most every other window open at Stage 1, depending on how the heaters cope with the infiltrating arctic air. Icing inside the bus may also become a problem.
When you see a bus passing with windows open at Stage 1 you may not realize that they are open.
The state guidelines are recommendations for adequate bus ventilation. The wording leaves room for making common sense adjustments to the suggested window openings as temperatures fall and weather conditions turn harsher. I will continue trying to provide adequate ventilation. My decisions will be based on experience gained while driving school busses for the past eight years on local routes and on charter trips.
Raymond Schenk lives in Fayston and is a school bus driver in the Mad River Valley.
