School Bus Driver

School Bus Driver

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.

SubscribeGet emails when new questions are answered. Ask Me Anything!Show Bio +

Share:

Ask me anything!

Submit Your Question

1007 Questions

Share:

Last Answer on February 07, 2021

Best Rated

If you see a bus drive do something that you feel isn't safe with the kids on the bus, what should you do? (IE- turning in traffic on busy road when it's not their turn to go).

Asked by Kaskitowa over 10 years ago

Call it in to the authorities, or to the local bus shop/school district labeled on the outside of the school bus. Sometimes drivers do get distracted and make poor decisions. They still need to be notified so that they can adjust their driving style. There have been a few times where I have not made the best decision and pulled out inadvertently in front of someone on a blind corner, but we are human and all make mistakes. I would rather someone come to me and tell me that I need to watch how I drive than to endanger children anymore than necessary.

When a school bus travels at 60MPH, why does an alarm go off and the bus slows down?

Asked by Jon over 10 years ago

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.

A new dispatcher is being
disrespectful to me on the
radio and in general. I tried
to help in a rock throwing
incident and she later told me
to be quiet.

Asked by judyf almost 11 years ago

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.

Parent does not like me -
wants to watch two weeks
of my bus driver activity

Asked by JUDYF about 11 years ago

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.

We were about to go out to our bus stop, but, the bus driver sped by being about 7-10 minutes early. Aren't the bus drivers suppose to stop an wait for a small time?

Asked by redblake66 over 10 years ago

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.

Can a bus school bus driver make a student sweep the floor legally.

Asked by Bo over 9 years ago

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.

Is there a minimum age to become a school bus driver? I'm 20. Is it a potential job while I myself am in school? Drive 5-8, class 9-12, drive 2-5?

Asked by Matt over 10 years ago

Each state has their own laws regarding the age of bus drivers. I think here in Georgia it is 21 or 22. Other than that I'm not sure. As far as time is concerned, yes it can be worked during a college schedule. In fact I am in college myself and manage my job and college.