CMS puts new safety measure in place for buses

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Details of a new program designed to keep your children safe while riding Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools buses have been released.

[2 hurt, car smashed after wheel comes loose from CMS bus]

CMS officials told Channel 9 on Monday that the school district spent $19,500 to buy a Wheel-Check system for its fleet of more than 1,000 buses.

The system uses flags to visually warn drivers if anything is loose.

"They look like little flags that are put on every wheel nut on every tire,” CMS chief operating officer Carol Stamper said.

The program comes after a wheel flew off a CMS bus during morning rush hour in late August.

Channel 9 spoke with a mother of three students who said she found it hard to believe bus safety has come to this, but she supports the effort.

“I think it's better than nothing,” Syreeta Gray said. “It's a second set of eyes, and the bus driver then can double-check the mechanics' work and say, 'Hey, something's wrong with my bus.'”

CMS officials said installation of the Wheel-Check flags is 85 percent complete.

The system is being rolled out in the wake of two CMS bus fires in less than a month.

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