Hundreds of northeast Ohio school buses flunk yearly safety inspection

CLEVELAND - Hundreds of school buses in the top ten largest school districts in Northeast Ohio failed yearly safety inspections performed by the Ohio Highway Patrol.

The annual school bus inspection is conducted by the highway patrol from June through August in preparation for the upcoming school year. All defects/violations must be repaired prior to the issuance of an inspection decal and transportation of students.

An exclusive 5 On Your Side investigation of inspection records reveals inspectors found violations including leaking breaks, bad tires and warning lights that failed to operate.

For example, in the Cleveland Metropolitan School District, inspectors found 79 percent of the district's 273 buses were to have "out of service" violations.

According to the 2012 Ohio School Bus Inspection Manual, "all buses are to maintained without any defects." The regulations also mandate that "all components on the bus must be in working condition" at the time of inspection.

In Akron, nearly 44 percent of buses failed inspection. Districts with the fewest violations included Mentor, Berea and Elyria.

Ohio's school bus inspection program is considered among the most comprehensive in the nation.

Sgt. John Miller of the Ohio Highway Patrol credits inspections with saving lives.

"A trooper that was on this team before found a defect on a bumper that resulted in a national recall," Miller said. "These vehicles are hauling our most precious cargo, which is our children."

Ohio's school bus inspection program guarantees that no bus is placed in operation for the school year before it is in good working condition.

You can check the complete results for the top 10 largest school districts in Northeast Ohio .

View School Bus Inspections in a full screen map