“ The FirstNet public safety broadband network ensures that Carroll County Public Schools officials can reliably and clearly communicate to the district ’ s network of contracted drivers – with priority and pre-emption if the commercial network becomes congested ,” said Brandon Gallion , associate director , product marketing , FirstNet Program at AT & T . “ Where is the bus ? Can you communicate with the driver ? These are critical questions during an emergency , and a priority network helps ensure student safety .” Starr said that , in addition to Carroll County using Sonim mobile devices mounted in GPSLockbox kits , many other districts around the nation are beginning to mount Samsung tablets as well – citing the tablets ’ ability to power RFID identification cards for students , or to host routing information . GPSLockbox can turn the Samsung Tablet into a crystal-clear nationwide push-to-talk system by adding the palm microphone , 20 watt amplified speaker and convenient on / off volume controls . Now adding tablets no longer require a separate radio or smartphone . One data plan gives you both data and voice communications ! “ One of the most common problems for school bus operators is driver substitution and turnover , where one driver is absent and so another driver has to assume a route with which they are unfamiliar ,” he said . “ In that situation , students using identification cards , or that driver having route info easily available , can go a long way toward ensuring reliable drop-offs .”
Safety tech deployment
Today , nearly all of the fleet has been outfitted with the full suite of technology because of the agreement . Carroll County Public Schools is still conducting installations in cooperation with its technology partners , and still must complete final quality-control checks before the fleet is fully operational .
16 | SCHOOL-BUSRIDE . COM | JANUARY 2021