GUILDERLAND — While a veteran bus driver here is concerned about student drivers crashing into buses, Guilderland administrators say they are pro-active in heading off problems.

Sue Spiak, a school-bus driver at Guilderland for 13 years, says arrival and dismissal times at the high school in Guilderland Center are akin to a Sunday afternoon NASCAR race.

High School Principal Michael Piccirillo says the situation is under control. He stands with other administrators and monitors in the parking lot at the beginning and end of every school day, said Piccirillo.
"It’s proactive, not reactive," said the principal. "Anything we see, we deal with."
So far this school year, he said, he was aware of only one collision between "an empty school bus and a couple of students."
School bus driver Cynthia Barnick says, in an accident report filed by the Guilderland Police, that, on Nov. 9 at 7:18 a.m. she was heading west on Route 146 when a car approached the intersection from Route 158. The Ford sedan "slowed down then turned left in front of her, and she had no time to stop," the report says.

Two vehicles were towed from the scene and three people were transported for immediate medical treatment, the report says.

The 17-year-old driver, Reece Berberick, was ticketed for a right-of-way violation.

Guilderland Police filed another report for an accident that took place on Route 146 a week later, on Nov. 15, at 2:59 p.m., just after high school dismissal, involving two young drivers.
The report says that 17-year-old Joseph Villa was northbound on Route 146 "and wasn’t paying attention and didn’t see" that Emily Kidd, 16, driving a 2006 Toyota, "had stopped in front of him." Villa’s Toyota then struck Kidd’s car, "which was stopped in traffic," the report says. Kidd’s car continued forward, striking a third car, driven by Meredith Best, 47, of Troy.
No tickets were issued, the report says, noting "minor damage" to Best’s car.

Spiak says that such accidents, involving student drivers, are frequent near the high school at the times the school opens and lets out.

Asked if Guilderland Police had noticed clusters of accidents near the high school at these times, Lieutenant Curtis Cox told The Enterprise, "We seem to get a number of accidents there from 2:40 to 3:30, but we haven’t done an analysis on student involvement." Cox said an increase in accidents at arrival and dismissal times could be due to "just more congestion" as staff members, buses, and students are all traveling the roads.

Accidents, he said, might be caused by a variety of factors, including road conditions, or following too close.
"Often times, there are students involved," Cox said, but he stressed that he was answering questions spontaneously and there was "no hard data."

"Very scary"

For Spiak, who wrote a letter to the Enterprise editor this week about her concerns, one instance is too many. She herself was hit by a student driver last spring, she said.
"A student slammed into the side of my bus," said Spiak, "Do we have to wait for someone to die to do something about this""
Although she had no number, Spiak said there have been "a lot" of student accidents in the years she has been driving. In addition to the accidents on Nov. 9 and 15, she cited a "pretty bad" accident at the intersection of routes 146 and 20 where a student was turning right to go to school and took the turn too fast, hitting both a pickup truck and a school bus.
"It’s very scary when you have students in a car and they plant themselves under your bus," she said.
Last spring, Spiak said, "I was on my way to the high school when a car pulled out in front of me. She said she didn’t see me," Spiak said of the driver. "How can you not see a great big school bus" She was a brand-new driver. She said, ‘My mother’s going to kill me.’"
Spiak was distressed that the driver was not issued a ticket. "The Guilderland Police say, if they don’t witness an accident, they won’t give a ticket," said Spiak.
Guilderland Police Investigator Thomas Funk explained why an arrest report sometimes isn’t filed after an accident. "Usually, with something like that, we just make an accident report unless there is some other outstanding factor, like being drunk," he said.
Funk said of issuing a ticket, "It’s at the officer’s discretion. We usually don’t write tickets unless we witness an accident. The court system doesn’t like it," he said.
Lt. Cox, too, stressed that tickets are issued at an officer’s discretion. The decision, he said, "is based on the totality of circumstances, including physical evidence and the statements people make."

He pointed out that a ticket was issued in the Nov. 9 accident although it was not witnessed by a police officer.
"Every situation is different," concluded Funk.
"We pay thousands of dollars in taxes for school buses," said Spiak, indicating more high-school students ought to ride them. Her biggest concern, she said is safety. "Something needs to be done before someone dies."

Spiak graduated from Guilderland High School in 1976 and says that, in her era, driving to school was a privilege that was earned.
In her letter to the editor, Spiak asks, "When did the school administration lose control and the students take over" Isn’t it the school’s job to protect their students""
"People depend on their cars"

Piccirillo told The Enterprise this week that 320 Guilderland High School students have permits to drive to school and park in a school lot. In order to get a permit, he said, a student must have a valid driver’s license, must fill out an application, and must pay an annual fee of $25.
He described the application as "pretty much a matter of form."
Piccirillo went on, "People lose their privileges if they violate school rules on parking or driving."
He estimated "a very small percentage" — perhaps 10 or 20 — had lost their privileges for a period of time. He said the disciplinary action was similar to students’ losing their bus-riding privileges if they misbehaved on the bus — the consequences become more severe for repeat infractions.
Piccirillo said that the school administration takes safety "very seriously." He hopes that his being outside everyday, watching the parking lot, "lends a sense that we care about a safe environment," said Piccirillo.
"If we feel someone is not driving safely, we talk with them," he said.
He also said that, at the high school, policies are reviewed every year, and sooner if needed. "We ask, is there something we can do differently," said Piccirillo.
Asked if there has been a change since the 1970’s to which Spiak refers, Piccirillo said, "I think students feel when they turn 16 and get a permit, they’ll have their own car right away. We understand the world has changed...We take steps every day to deal with it."
"Driving to school is a privilege, not a right," said Superintendent Gregory Aidala. "We stress that with students when they fill out the application....I would dispute the fact that they are driving recklessly. I don’t believe the administration has lost control at all."

He went on to point out that the school now offers driver-education classes in the fall and spring semesters as well as over the summer.
Aidala concluded, "The world today is different...We have activities after school. Students are involved in sports and have jobs after school. Many of them leave directly from school for work and we don’t have public transportation...We’re not a city; we’re a suburban area. People depend on their cars."