BUS RECALL: AREA SCHOOL DISTRICTS ARE AFFECTED BY REPAIRS

A school-bus recall announced last month by Navistar International was expanded last week to include all 185,000 Navistar International school bus chassis manufactured after Sept. 1, 1978.

The recall will affect school buses in Cape Girardeau, Jackson, Perryville, Ste. Genevieve, Cairo, Ill. and Marion, Ill.

With most school districts in the bi-state area set open in less than two weeks, it's doubtful all of the school buses can be modified in time for the start of school.

But Navistar officials said the buses can continue to be driven until the modification is completed.

Navistar spokesman John McDonald said school districts and private bus companies that transport schoolchildren have inquired about the recall.

"They ask, `Is it safe to drive the buses?' and we tell them it is safe, that the recall is the result of a lab test, not an accident that might have happened," McDonald said.

"These 185,000 buses have traveled billions of miles without incident. There is some risk, but it's small. No one is panicking."

Recall notices will be sent next month to owners of Navistar International school buses with 65-gallon fuel tanks, according to Tom Celliti, vice president of bus operations at the company's corporate headquarters in Chicago.

Similar recall notices were mailed this month to owners of the buses with 35-gallon fuel tanks.

Although the modification is a relatively minor one, local school bus operators say they will have a problem scheduling their buses for the work after school has started.

Navistar said the modification can be done "on site" by a bus mechanic, if the buses can't be brought to a local Navistar International dealer.

Jean Kurre, coordinator of bus transportation for the Jackson School District, said the two Navistar International buses in the Jackson bus fleet will be taken to the Navistar International dealer in Cape Girardeau for modification.

"Anytime recall work is done to one of our school buses, we let the dealer do it," she said.

George Hatthorn, manager of Ryder Student Transportation of Cape Girardeau, said a decision on where to take the six affected buses in Ryder's Cape Girardeau fleet will be made at Ryder's corporate headquarters in Miami, Fla.

Meyer Bus Line in Perryville operates a fleet of Navistar International school buses for contract student transportation in the Perryville and Ste. Genevieve public schools.

A spokesman said last week no decision has been made on where the modification work will be done.

"It will cause us some problems trying to get all of our buses in for the modification because of the start of school, and the charter trips for football and other school activities," he said.

Mayflower Bus Co. at Marion operates a fleet of 11 Navistar International school buses at Cairo, where they transport Cairo public school students under contract with the district.

The voluntary recall first was announced last month to correct a potential weak spot in the protective steel cage on the 35-gallon fuel tank models.

The steel cage is designed to reduce the amount of fuel leakage in a collision by absorbing some of the impact.

But laboratory tests conducted earlier this year by the federal Highway Traffic Safety Administration indicated the protective case might not absorb its share of the impact in a collision, which could cause a fuel leak that exceeds federal standards.

Similar tests were conducted this month on a Navistar International bus chassis equipped with a 65-gallon fuel tank, with the same results, which prompted the company to expand the recall to include all the bus chassis.

Celliti said the protective cage previously passed the tests without difficulty. He said the potential defect was discovered when the crash test was run at a different and more severe angle of crash than the earlier tests.

Celliti said the recall is precautionary only, and there have been no reports of incidents or injuries related to the defective part.

Navistar said the modification probably will involve adding more steel support braces to reinforce the cage around the fuel tank. All labor and parts for the modification will be supplied at no cost to bus owners, Celliti said.

Navistar officials said the cost of the recall could go as high as $20 million. They said most of the affected school buses operate on diesel fuel, which is less volatile than gasoline.

But fire from a leaking fuel tank remains a major concern in an accident. All large school bus chassis manufactured after 1990 now are diesel powered because of safety concerns and fuel economy.