School Bus Safety Skills Competitions Karen Reese Brevard County Public Schools School Bus Drivers Skills – Are yours Safe

 35 plus years in Transportation from Virginia to Florida  Were going to be discussing your drivers & just how safe are they, each and every day that they are out on the roads.  This will show you what you may be able to do to help them be the best they can be, and have fun doing it, skill’s, road-eo.  Everyone likes a little competition every now & then. Introduction

 Hold a Valid Commercial Drivers License (CDL)  Employed in the state for which they are employed  And must not have had a preventable school bus accident (as defined by the National Safety Council Safe Driver Award Program.) (Definition of a Preventable Accident)  An occurrence involving an employer owned or leased vehicle that results in an accident in which the driver in question failed to exercise every reasonable precaution to prevent it. Qualifications

 Unprofessional behavior  Speeding  Use of Drugs  Use of Alcohol during or immediately prior to competition  Participant who knowingly excepts signals from anyone  Failure to maintain a proper driving position, failure to wear seat belt  No communication devices, such as cell phones, Bluetooth’s, blackberries etc. Competition Disqualifications

General Knowledge Written Test Events Written/Actual Vehicle Inspection Test

OFFSET ALLEY Distance between Offsets: length of bus + 3 feet Length/Width of offsets: 10 feet Barrier D Barrier C / Barrier B Barrier A □ □ Offset Alley This event is designed to evaluate a driver’s ability to handle the bus under actual and simulated driving conditions, as well as to determine the ability to drive the bus through the offset lanes with minimum hesitation.

 Drivers knowledge of laws, rules and regulations when required to maneuver across a rail grade crossing at a right turn that represents one of the greatest hazards as a mass casualty or fatalities are concerned.  Complete all tasks at RR Grade and will have 15 sec. to complete the right turn. RxR Grade Crossing-Right Turn Event & Left Turn

 This is used to determine the driver’s ability to maneuver the right wheels of the school bus over a straight path.  Width of the school bus plus 3 feet  Must continue through with forward motion and not knock any tennis balls off. Straight Line

 Driver is required to drive the bus in a straight line with diminishing clearances.  1st pair of standards width of bus + 10 in.  2 nd pair, width of bus + 8 in.  3 rd pair, width of bus + 6 in.  4 th pair, width of bus + 4 in.  5 th pair, width of bus + 2 in. Diminishing Clearance

 Test the skills of the driver to make a loading or unloading maneuver by requiring them to pull into a curb parking zone that has a limited distance. Curb Line Event

 This test is designed to evaluate the ability of the driver to back into the stall without touching standards or crossing marker lines.  This will also test the depth perception of the driver from a rear barrier.  This event to be entered by the right side of the stall only.  Stall will be measured by a Conventional bus plus 4 ft. Back up Stall/ Alley Dock

 One of the most life threatening maneuvers a school bus driver will perform.  To evaluate the alertness to the loading of Elem. Passengers and perform several important functions incidental to loading. Such items as signals, amber warning student lights, mirrors, red student lights, stop arms & crossing gate as well as student behavior & traffic. Elem. Student Loading Event

 This test determines the depth perception and ability to use crossover mirrors to bring the bus to a smooth stop. Stop Line Event

 Evaluates the drivers ability to park parallel to a curb without touching barriers at both ends of the parking area, and within 18 inches of the curb and exit. Area: Bus length plus 7 ft. Parallel Parking Event 8 ‘Barrier

 School Buses Driver participation  Tennis Balls Family & Friends  Delineators/standards Pictures  Score Sheets Picnic/Food/Drinks  Stop Watches Business Participation  Test Sheets/pencils Team Work  Wooden Students Awards  RR Crossing signs Materials Needed Fun