The Bus Driver
15 Years Experience
South, ..
Female, 37
I have been a bus driver since late 2006. I know the inside story, the scoop, the down low dirt of what it takes to be a bus driver, how to handle kids and adults, and how to survive on the "streets" so to speak. I used to have a blog, feel free to browse it or ask me a question here.
Judy,
Sometimes dispatchers are under a lot more stress in situations that are emergencies or safety issues. I would recommend taking a step back and listening to the radio chatter that occurs during an incident. Two common incidents we have in my area are vehicle accidents and trains. While neither really involves a school bus other than the knowledge to reroute in the case of an emergency or to save time, the conversations often go something like this:
Vehicle accident -
Random bus driver - x to bus shop, there has been a vehicle accident at the intersection of x and x. Advised that other drivers reroute to avoid.
Bus shop - 10-4 advising drivers to avoid intersection of x and x.
Other bus driver - What color was the car/truck involved?
Still another one - Who got in an accident?
Third - What intersection was it?
Fourth - How did they get into an accident is the whole intersection blocked off?
Fifth - Bus shop, i had my radio down and didnt hear what was said.....
I could go on but then you get the idea. The same occurs when a train is blocking an intersection. Finally emergencies involving other buses can be as stressful when you have 5+ people who are offering to help but are running over each other on the radio at the chance to be the first to gawk at the incident. Our bus shop actually tells us to stay off the radio as it is distracting and frustrating because the bus shop OR the driver involved in the emergency cannot seem to key up on the radio because of the flurry of idiotic activity from the other "well meaning" bus drivers. I've even taken to calling the bus shop by cell phone to avoid the incessant radio chatter and questions regarding the incident from drivers OTHER than dispatch.
Point is, sometimes taking a step back and evaluating whether our voices are needed can sometimes make the few times we do decide to step up and help that much more meaningful.
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The bus driver should stop at every stop on his or her route, however waiting is left up to the individual bus driver. You may need to adjust your time in going down to your bus stop to ensure you do not miss the stop. The bus driver may have a new stop or has needed to adjust the time of your bus stop in order to make things run more smoothly. Additionally, there might have been a substitute on the bus that was unaware of the stop. I recommend being out at the stop at least 5 minutes ahead of time. If I stop at a stop, I will typically wait 5 seconds before closing the door and moving on. If I see students coming towards the bus, I will wait. However if the student is chronically late to the stop or dawdles and doesn't come directly to the bus in a timely manner, then I am more apt to shut the door and leave the student behind, especially if they have been given a warning about the time they are to be at the stop.
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Sorry for the delay in reply. Usually it means that the bus is governed to a certain speed that it can't exceed. Some buses have alarms to notify the driver of a speed exceeded in which case the bus will automatically slow. Other buses will just hit that maximum speed and simply slow or hold at that max speed.
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Legally speaking, probably not. However did the child do something that would warrant a need to clean up the bus? If so, such consequences should be discussed with the parent before hand unless the school opts to handle it that way. For example, a kid who has a chronic problem of not throwing away his trash may be asked to clean the bus in lieu of a harsher punishment like In School Suspension or Detention. My bus kids always like to help pick up the bus and I do have a couple of them who like to sweep up.
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As long as you are following procedures your boss should back you up. We've had parents threaten to get us fired, but in the end they look like the idiots because we are following all procedures and policies in regards to bus and student behavior. I wouldn't worry too much unless you are doing something that is in clear violation of the rules.
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It is legal and well within the bus driver's right to assign seats on the bus. Different drivers choose to do it by sections or by sides, or even by assigning each child a specific spot on a seat. I have my bus divided by grade level, though i have so many middle schoolers that it is difficult to contain them to just a section of rows. So my bus rules are my elementary (pre-k thru grade 5) cannot go past row 6 which is about the halfway point of my 72 passenger bus. My middle school and high school share the remaining 6 rows. Depending on the number of kids in each school I serve will determine whether I allow them certain privileges and that does include restricting seats.
Unless you are forced to sit 3 to a seat to where 3 high schoolers in a seat would make the ride dangerous and unsafe due to lack of space, then really its up to the bus driver. Are the girls crowded? Are there more girls than boys? If the numbers are that all the boys fit (at 2 to a seat) in the 8 seats available (4 rows of seats) then there really isn't an issue other than the fact you feel it is unfair. Life isn't fair.
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The citations are usually handled by the school. The bus driver will turn the citation into the proper authorities (principal or supervisor) and the citation will be handled from there. The consequence depends on the severity of the behavior written on the citation. For example: two kids in a fight will get 3 days off the bus but the kid who gets in trouble for using foul language might only get a warning. It depends on your school districts policy.
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