What Happens During a School Bus Safety Competition?

You’ve probably seen us talk about School Bus Safety Competitions quite a bit, so you might be curious about the ins and outs of these events! School Bus Safety Competitions are regional, state, or national gatherings where school bus drivers come to show off their skills in various challenges. In the case of the upcoming State Competition, the challenges are as follows:

• Written Examination
  • A 50 question multiple-choice test with a 45 minute time limit.
• Starter/Stop Line & Simulated Bus Stop
  • A test of the driver’s depth perception, ability to use cross view mirrors, and capability to bring the bus to a smooth stop.
• Offset Alley
  • A simulation of two offset lanes to see if the driver can navigate them without hitting any obstacles.
• Diminishing Clearance
  • A test of the driver’s ability to drive straight through 4 sets of parallel lines, set up with 8” down to 2” of clearance on both sides of the bus.
• Railroad Crossing
  • A simulation to assess the driver’s knowledge of the laws and procedures pertaining to driving a school bus over railroad tracks.
• Straight Line
  • A test of the driver’s ability to maneuver the bus wheels over a straight path.
• Controlled Right Turn
  • A simulation to test the driver’s proficiency in judging distance and handling the bus in making a right hand turn at an intersection.
• Back Up
  • A test of the driver’s ability to drive the bus backwards.
• Parallel Parking
  • A test of the driver’s ability to parallel park the bus.
• Curb Line Park
  • A test of the driver’s skills regarding making a loading/unloading move that requires pulling into a curb parking zone that has limited distance.
• Height Judgment
  • A test of the driver’s ability to judge overhead clearances.
• Physical & Verbal Vehicle Inspection
  • A run-through of a vehicle inspection, where the driver will have to point out defects on the vehicle.

Each one of these tests is worth a certain amount of points, and the driver with the most points at the end of the competition is of course the winner!

So why do School Bus Safety Competitions exist? The purpose of these events is to encourage learning and utilizing safe driving practices, recognize drivers who take pride in their jobs and perform excellently, improve public awareness of the skills and responsibilities involved with driving a school bus, and encourage communication and relationship building between drivers.

For all of these reasons, we think School Bus Safety Competitions are great, and we’d love to have more of our drivers participate! If you’d be interested in competing in the future, stay tuned because the next competition is next April!

Again, congratulations to our drivers who made it to the State Competition, and best of luck to you tonight and tomorrow!

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