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.

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1007 Questions

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Last Answer on February 07, 2021

Best Rated

Hey do you know what the difference is between air brakes and vacuum brakes? Thanks! Also air and vacuum doors, stop arms, etc. Thanks

Asked by Conner over 6 years ago

I've never heard of vacuum brakes or doors but I can explain manual doors, air brakes, and standard brakes. On a majority of buses, there is an air system that controls the door, stop sign, crossing arm, and brake system. There is a compression tank that fills to capacity when the bus is turned on. Some drivers are required to "bleed" the brakes when the bus is switched off (more on that in a few). When the system is working properly the items come out like they're supposed to and they operate properly. Of course there are overrides for the systems. In both the drivers seat and in the door frame there is a switch that will override the stop system and shut it down if its malfunctioning. The door has an emergency override switch that allows the air to be released so you can open the door in the case of an emergency. Note that manual doors do not have this. They are operated by the driver manually with a hinge that the driver uses to open and close the door from the driver seat. Air brakes are similar in that there is an override for them but it requires you to bleed the tank by pressing the brake pedal till the emergency parking brake pops out and the brakes set on the bus. Some buses do not have this and have the standard brake system found in all cars.

Yea but can it be considered vandalism if you pressed the issue? Or even theft? What about throwing a pack of cigarettes or chew away?

Asked by Samantha almost 7 years ago

Still illegal.

Hello, so this kids teacher made them stay behind in class for a extra few minutes or so. So when he got to the buses we where pulling out and she obviously saw him and we where yelling at her to stop. She told us to shut up and left him.

Asked by Ndnddndnd over 6 years ago

No the driver cannot get into trouble. It is the student's responsibility to get out to the bus on time. Bus drivers are on a time schedule. It is not the fault of the driver that the student stayed after at the teacher's request. We are not taxi's.

Do drivers get fired for mishandling students. I don’t mean assaulting, batting, or calling them horrible names. But like yelling too much, too many citations, and/or swearing

Asked by Nsnsnsnsnssdnej almost 7 years ago

That depends on the district. Most districts prefer drivers to try to get along and strike a balance with their bus kids.

If something happens would the driver be liable if the driver saw the student walking to the bus? Is there a better way to handle that situation? Would the driver be liable if it was say a sub and he or she did not know that person was coming?

Asked by Jarred almost 7 years ago

That is exactly the reason why we ask students to be ready 5 to 10 minutes before stop time so they are ready to go. So they cannot be held liable.

My kid been having problems with the bus monitor she called my daughter a hoe on a Friday we called up to the bus and they were supposed to let us know if it did happen or not then on Monday 3 kids told me she was in my 11 year old face now she scare

Asked by Tasha over 6 years ago

It sounds like the monitor might not need to be on the bus but you can ask for video to be pulled which has audio recording and it will also show if your child was showing out and the monitor was correcting her by telling her to sit down and behave. We have a lot of kids who try to get us as drivers in trouble for saying things when they are angry they got in trouble in the first place.

https://youtu.be/Gc7C_KK889U

Check this video out and watch to the end it’s frickin hilarious. Make sure you watch it all the way through. Hahahahahaha

Asked by Hahahahahahahahahahahahahhahaha over 6 years ago

Hahaha i saw that yesterday