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.
Typically bus cameras are on from the time the driver starts the bus to up to 15 minutes after the bus is shut down. This is a safety feature for students as well as drivers. The 15 minutes after the bus is shut down is long enough that it would be suspect if a driver were to deliberately shut down the bus and wait those 15 minutes before addressing students. In my district, we are not allowed to have the keys to the VCR or Digital recording boxes so that we can remove the tape ourselves. Sometimes the camera does not work properly or the roads are so bouncy that the VCR hiccups and ejects the tape so the system is not perfect. Digital cameras have made it easier for us because VHS tapes can be so easily corrupted.
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Depending on the area in which you live and the desperation of your child to use the bathroom would be the determining factor for whether or not the right decision was made. When possible here, we will make accommodations for a child to use an actual restroom, but sometimes on country routes, there are not bathrooms available readily. If your child was desperate enough to where he could not wait till he got home or risked embarrassment in wetting his pants, the bus driver probably thought it might be easier to just let him off and have him go behind a tree right quick. If you take issue with this, then bring it to the bus drivers attention and talk to the bus supervisors.
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That's a tough question to answer. My instinct is that before the bus starts moving that all children should be secured in seatbelts (provided the bus has a seatbelt for the child) or at the very least, all children should be seated. I drive a bus without seatbelts and my rule of thumb is that I will wait until most, if not all of my kids are settled in their seats before continuing with the route. At a maximum, I might let up on the brake and roll the bus forward but I wont hit the gas until they are seated. The only other time where this might need to have an exception is if the bus stop is on a main busy highway and it would be more dangerous to remain stopped for longer than is necessary. Aides on the buses help alleviate any driver issues with getting the kids buckled in.
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That all depends on the reason for the write up and your individual schools policy on write ups coming from bus drivers. In my district, administrators are supposed to follow a policy that goes something like this:
1st write up: warning2nd write up: 1-3 days off the bus depending on offense3rd write up: 3-5 days off the bus4th write up: 5-10 days off the bus5th write up: 10 days off or permanent removal from bus riding privilege for at least the remainder of the school year.6th write up: Permanent removal of bus riding privilege for at least the remainder of the school year.
In many instances they don't follow this policy like they should and issue far too many warnings, but if they follow it like they should, we would have less behavior issues on our buses. Chances are good you will only get a warning. I recommend to all kids who get write ups that they better their chances with the bus driver if they verbally apologize for their behavior and perhaps even write a letter of apology to the bus driver or their fellow students depending on what the situation was. An apology goes a long way with me when it comes to my bus kids. If you have the guts to apologize for your behavior, I am actually LESS likely to follow through and submit the write up to the school because you showed me that you are willing to accept consequences for your actions. (In those cases I usually ask the student to sit in the front seat for a period of time and then at the end give them the write up to tear up or dispose of to drive home the point that they should behave) I suggest you get on the bus tomorrow morning and apologize to the bus driver and own up to your actions. That speaks volumes. Good luck!
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School Bus Driver
Do the kids treat you with the same amount of respect as other authority figures at school?
Are you sure that's the only reason they got kicked off the bus? There may have been other reasons for your friend to be denied riding the bus that you are not privileged enough to hear about. A little more information can help me answer this.
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Honestly I don't. I do know they retire the buses after so many years or after they rack up so many driven miles due to safety concerns. Plus older buses do not have as many of the safety features that newer buses have. Child check lights, taller seats for better compartmentalization, less overhead hazards... etc.
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Are your kids standing out at the stop 5-10 minutes ahead of time for the bus driver to see them? There may have been a substitute on the bus and not every substitute knows every stop and most rely on students being out at their designated stops on time. If your children have been told multiple times to be out on time ready and waiting and they were not, then I have no sympathy. That being said our policy in our district is that we go by every stop and at least look to see if the kids are at each stop. On colder mornings or mornings where rain is a concern, I don't mind waiting an extra minute for kids to come from the house but generally the kids need to be out and ready and waiting on the bus.
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