Report: 25 Percent of Connecticut School Buses Unsafe

A Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles spokesman says the agency is trying to keep pressure on school bus companies with poor safety records, in response to the DMV having ordered more than a quarter of the state’s school buses off the road last year.

The Hartford Courant reported in Sunday’s editions that more than 25 percent of the nearly 7,500 school buses in the state were ordered out of service in 2009.

Records show inspectors found serious brake problems in more than 600 buses, transmission leaks in another 200 buses and emergency door problems in more than 100 buses.

DMV spokesman William Seymour says his agency follows up on companies with the worst safety records by issuing tickets and fines, and ordering buses off the roads when repairs aren’t made.