Carson City's school buses safe

Carson City does not own any of the 6,000 school buses made by Thomas Built Buses Inc. that may have defective brake systems.

"We lucked out," said Mike Mitchell, director of operations for the school district.

The brakes have been known to fail for up to three seconds when the vehicle is moving less than 20 miles per hour.

The problem was discovered by the brake system's manufacturer, Bendix of Elyria, Ohio, after a San Francisco school bus experienced a temporary loss of brake capability. The driver was able to stop safely.

The anti-lock brake systems were manufactured from March 1998 to last month.

"The ones we own of that type we purchased before that date," Mitchell said. "The ones we've purchased since then were of another type."