Wake County operates some of the school buses recalled for potentially unsafe seats

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Friday, October 18, 2019
50K school buses recalled for potentially unsafe seats
A nationwide recall on school buses is having an impact on Wake County.

RALEIGH (WTVD) -- A nationwide recall on school buses is having an impact on Wake County.

North Carolina's largest school district said it does operate some of the buses named in the recall.

"The state Department of Public Instruction has advised Durham Public Schools that-according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration-the impending recall does not rise to the level of requiring to us to not use buses that may be affected," said Chip Sudderth with Durham Public Schools.

  • 100 out of 800 Wake County school buses are impacted by the recall.
  • 65 out of 435 Cumberland County school buses are impacted by the recall.
  • 11 out of 215 Durham school buses are impacted by the recall.
  • The recall concerns problems with seats in 53,528 Thomas Built Buses school buses. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said some seats don't have enough padding to prevent an injury during a crash.

    Wake County Public School System said Thomas Built Buses already indicated it will comply with the recall and install additional padding to fix the problem.

    There have been no injuries reported in connection to this recall.

    The recall begins Dec. 2.