It is an event focused on school bus driver safety and sharpening skills. Dozens of school bus drivers competed in Jordan School District’s "Bus Safety Challenge."
On this episode of the Supercast, find out how school bus drivers' skills were put to the test as they snaked their way through a series of traffic cones, navigated a diminishing clearance, curbside parked, conquered an offset alley and more. It was a challenge to help drivers be the best they can be in keeping students safe on the school bus.
Audio Transcription
Anthony Godfrey:
Hello, and welcome to the Supercast. I'm your host, Superintendent Anthony Godrey. It is an event focused on school bus driver safety and sharpening skills. Dozens of school bus drivers competed in Jordan School District's “Bus Safety Challenge.” On this episode of the Supercast, find out how school bus driver's skills were put to the test as they snaked their way through a series of traffic cones, navigated a diminishing clearance, parked curbside and conquered an offset alley. It was a challenge to help drivers be the best they can be in keeping students safe on the school bus. Join me as I board the school bus to experience this challenge firsthand.
All right. We're here at Transportation with Marcus. Thanks for taking some time.
Marcus:
Hey, not a problem.
Anthony Godfrey:
Now tell me the name of this event today.
Marcus:
So we've named this event the “School Bus Safety Challenge”.
Anthony Godfrey:
“School Bus Safety Challenge”. And what's the point of the “School Bus Safety Challenge”?
Marcus:
So the point of the “School Bus Safety Challenge” is to really hone in on our driver's skills. It puts them in situations that are found out in the real world, but even tighter, even harder. So they can really hone in on their skills and see where they might be lacking. See where they're doing a great job. And it's an overall fun challenge for them.
Anthony Godfrey:
Now you're a trainer here with the Transportation department. And do you think you could train me to be a good bus driver?
Marcus:
I am sure of it.
Anthony Godfrey:
That's because of your skills, not mine. I am really in awe of bus drivers because of the number of things that they have to keep track of all at the same time. The least of which are rear view mirrors or side mirrors and mailboxes and that, but more than anything, they're keeping the people on the road safe and the kids safe most of all. So it's a tough thing. I've driven a bus around this parking lot which made it clear to everyone that I should not drive beyond this parking lot. Tell me, just from a trainer's perspective, what's the hardest part of being a bus driver do you think?
Marcus:
The hardest part, and I tell this to all of the people coming on board is student management. They're always intimidated about driving the vehicle and within the first two weeks they got it, they're doing it. They're perfect at it. Student management's one of those skills that's hard for us to actually simulate behind the wheel training. Because it's something that we can give them the tools, but they really need to get the experience out on the road. So for our drivers, I would say that's the hardest skill to learn at first. But once they master it, you really learn to love the kids and love your route.
Anthony Godfrey:
Great. I love that. I also, I have to say, I love coming to Transportation because I always get this huge parking spot. It's meant for a bus, but man, it's very roomy, very spacious. So tell me about the event today. What are some of the challenges that you've set up along the course?
Marcus:
So we have a bunch of challenges. We have anything from a right hand turn challenge, which really hones in on the driver's right hand turn skills, because as you can imagine, turning a 40 foot bus can be difficult. It's not like turning a car in a neighborhood, you’ve got 40 feet of vehicle to turn. We have what's called an offset alley challenge that really hones in on their experience with stuff like construction zones, things of that nature. We have a diminishing clearance, which basically puts them in a 10 foot wide space and a bus is eight foot wide. And that slowly narrows down to when they're at the very end of the diminishing clearance, they literally have inches on each side of the bus to make it through.
Anthony Godfrey:
Oh wow. So it's just, how far can you make it without touching the sides?
Marcus:
Exactly.
Anthony Godfrey:
Does anyone make it all the way through?
Marcus:
You know, we've had some drivers that are really experienced that have made it all the way through. Yeah.
Anthony Godfrey:
Wow. That's impressive. So at the end of this, does a driver say to themselves,’This is a skill that I really need to work on’?
Marcus:
Yeah. I would think any driver that would do any sort of self-reflection would look at their scores at the end and see where they did good, where they did bad. And I don't even wanna say bad, because the course itself is quite challenging. I did one, six years ago when the state Department of Education used to put 'em on, and I remember just being so nervous going through it, but it really teaches you what you could be lacking in. But in that area of like expertise to where it's like fine, fine skills that you're practicing here.
Anthony Godfrey:
Right. Yeah. The other thing that it would do for drivers, I would think, is build your confidence, not just tell you the things that you could focus on, but to say, ‘Hey, I did really well at that. And actually I've really developed my skills and I've come a long way.’
Marcus:
Yeah, most definitely. Especially when we do the tour of the actual course itself, you see kind of that fear in a lot of the driver's eyes like, ‘Oh, can I actually do this?’ And then they actually go through the course and they're like, ‘I'm doing this, I'm actually making it through this. I didn't hit any of the obstacles.’ Or if you hit one, they just barely nudged it. Something like that, not they go into it thinking, ‘Oh no, I might totally fail this thing.’ And then by the end they're like, ‘Wow, I did a good job.’ And it really boosts that confidence.
Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah. Plus the competitive aspect of it makes it fun.
Marcus:
Oh yeah.
Anthony Godfrey:
Are there prizes involved?
Marcus:
Yep. There's prizes involved. We have some trophy plaques that they'll put in their bus bulkhead, which is really nice because then their passengers on their bus can see, ‘oh my bus driver won the competition. I'm in a safe bus’.
Anthony Godfrey:
Oh right. Yeah. That's cool. I love that. Yeah. What are some of the prizes that they're giving?
Marcus:
So we got a bunch of stuff actually donated to us through some of the high schools and some of the secondary schools that sent in donations. We have a bunch of donations that actually came in through some of our bus sales people like Rush, Thomas and Bluebird. They donated prizes. And then like I said, those trophies.
Anthony Godfrey:
Can we go take a look at the diminishing clearance?
Marcus:
We most definitely can.
Anthony Godfrey:
All right. Let's check it out.
Okay. This looks intimidating. So what's the method on this? Do you try to stay really close to one side as you go down? Or do you stay centered and allow each side to get closer and closer?
Marcus:
Multiple people have multiple strategies to it. Me, myself, I like to stay closer to the left side because that's the area you have most visibility on a school bus is that left side on the vehicle.
Anthony Godfrey:
Yep. We're about to watch Roslyn go through the diminishing clearance and she's in the 40 foot bus, which is regulation for these competitions. And while we watch her go through this, she's not supposed to stop and she's trying to avoid hitting the sides that get narrower and narrower. And it looks like she's trying to stay close to the left side. Is that what you think there that she's trying to do?
Marcus:
I would say so. Yeah.
Anthony Godfrey:
Hasn't hit anything so far, it doesn't look like, see, see where the real hub the judges are watching. Oh yeah. There's a wheel hub there. That sticks out a little bit. I see that now. Yes. I see that now, but she hasn't hit so far. Did she stop? She might have stopped once.
Marcus:
Oh, there we go.
Anthony Godfrey:
There we go. Hit one on the right hand side bus on the way out, but that's still quite remarkable.
Marcus:
That's still quite remarkable. Especially Roslyn’s only been driving a bus about six months.
Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, wow.
Marcus:
Yeah. So she's brand new to this.
Anthony Godfrey:
Brand new and just missed the one. That's really impressive. That's really cool. Well, I think this is a really exciting way to highlight bus driver skills. Give them some idea of where to focus next, but we've got a lot of really incredible drivers.
Marcus:
Oh, we do most definitely. The thing I really like about my job is I get to spend the first four weeks with these people, teaching them how to drive and you learn the back stories and where they're coming from and why they want to do this job. And it's just awesome to see people go from a skill level of nothing more than driving something like a minivan to up to driving a 40 foot bus and doing it with a lot of confidence.
Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah. It's impressive. Well, I appreciate what you do, Marcus. Hey, thank you. And thanks for your enthusiasm for helping drivers be at their best.
Marcus:
Hey, definitely.
Anthony Godfrey:
Stay with us more of our amazing school bus drivers, making their way through a challenging safety course to sharpen their driving skills.
Break:
Are you looking for a job right now? Looking to work in a fun and supportive environment with great pay and a rewarding career? Jordan School District is hiring. We're currently filling full and part-time positions. You can work and make a difference in young lives and education as a classroom assistant or a substitute teacher. Apply to work in one of our school cafeterias where our lunch staff serves up big smiles with great food every day. We're also looking to hire custodians and bus drivers. In Jordan School District we like to say people come for the job and enjoy the adventure. Apply today at workatjordan.org.
Anthony Godfrey:
Roslyn's about to do what's called the offset obstacle where you're trying to go through a very narrow area and then adjust, kind of turn a little bit and swerve to the left slowly and then go through the next narrow passage. So you've gotta be able to turn and then straighten the bus out really quickly. And wow, it's tough. It's really challenging the drivers that are here. And I can't imagine it. I can't imagine doing it. It's very narrow on both sides. So how did she do?
Marcus:
She hit three and then stopped twice. Okay. So that's seven for each one she hits and then 16 for the stopping, eight for stopping.
Anthony Godfrey:
So describe the obstacle here. What do you have set out? So
Marcus:
It's offset. So basically you're coming through, then you offset into this side without hitting. So you've gotta be able to turn, make the turn without hitting the pylons here.
Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, so you have two kind of almost white fence looking structures with red on the tip. And the idea is to squeeze through a narrow passage and then you have to go, what was the term that you used?
Marcus:
Offset.
Anthony Godfrey:
Offset? So then you offset to another passage and straighten out.
Marcus:
I would dub this, the Daybreak run, because cars are so close together in Daybreak and you gotta turn.
Anthony Godfrey:
You gotta kind thread the needle.
Marcus:
Yeah.
Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah. Okay. We're here with Roslyn who's been driving, I understand for six months, right?
Roslyn:
Yep. Just about.
Anthony Godfrey:
And before that you had a public service job as well. Tell me about that.
Roslyn:
I did. Some years before I was a police officer with Salt Lake City Police.
Anthony Godfrey:
And tell me about being a police officer versus driving a bus load full of kids.
Roslyn:
Surprisingly the challenges are very varied. I had no idea how much concentration and divided attention was required for being a bus driver. And while they’re are very different jobs, that is a similarity, absolutely between law enforcement and driving a school bus.
Anthony Godfrey:
You have to keep many things in your mind all at the same time.
Roslyn:
Yep.
Anthony Godfrey:
There's a level of awareness required at all times.
Roslyn:
Yes. What's going on outside the bus and inside the bus, watching for traffic, being a defensive driver, just, you know, like everyone should all the time, but kind of the stakes are higher because if you miss something, you're really big and can smash whatever you might hit.
Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah. Right. Tell me about today's competition. What did you think?
Roslyn:
I liked it. I have not done it before.
Anthony Godfrey:
I think you had one of the best runs on a couple of them.
Roslyn:
Well good. I'm glad that's where you were watching.
Anthony Godfrey:
Some swag and prizes are coming your way I suspect. Now, tell me what do you like most about being a bus driver?
Roslyn:
Well, I like the challenge of driving a big vehicle. That was kind of like for years, I kind of thought I would like to drive something big, a semi, bus. The whole semi thing is, that ship is sailed, but this is a much more enjoyable, local. And I frankly did it now because moms in my neighborhood were complaining that sometimes the bus didn't show up because of the bus driver shortage. So I just thought, well, if I'm ever gonna do it, it should be now.
Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah. Great. And anyone else listening that wants to be part of driving a 40 foot vehicle we're ready for you? Competition, prizes and excitement await you. So come on over. It's a great place and they're great, great people we have in Jordan District driving buses.
Roslyn:
It's all good.
Anthony Godfrey:
What was the hardest challenge that you went through just now?
Roslyn:
Marcus will probably laugh, but it was probably the first one because since I didn't know what it was, I had started in a bad position and it's just like getting your outside tires on a pad on the ground and Itotally failed it. Yeah, I did.
Anthony Godfrey:
The right hand challenge where you're trying to get the right side of the bus up against the curb?
Roslyn:
Yeah, yeah.
Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah. All right. Well that right side can be pesky. What was the easiest?
Roslyn:
Probably the serpentine.
Anthony Godfrey:
The serpentine. Really? It does not sound like it would be the easiest. It sounds like a terrible roller coaster ride I'd never want to get on.
Roslyn:
It's just, you know, knowing where your wheel placement is. Which ironically is the same as that, you know, right side curb challenge.
Anthony Godfrey:
But you were in the groove by then
Roslyn:
it was better. Yes. Yeah.
Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah. And describe that challenge for me. What exactly was required?
Roslyn:
Well, there's a line of cones and you have to serpentine through them. And there's actually plenty of room, but when you are considering how long the bus is, it has to be fairly precise as to when you start your turn and make sure your rear wheels go around, you know, each cone. And so you drive left and right. Much farther than you think you might have to in order to get the whole bus to clear.
Anthony Godfrey:
Well, the bus isn't hinged in the middle, so it does not it doesn't bend. And how many points did you score in the wheelie challenge?
Roslyn:
I aced that. Like 50 points were available and I got it.
Anthony Godfrey:
Now, was it a front wheelie or was it the side with the Dukes of Hazzard style?
Roslyn:
Dukes of Hazzard.
Anthony Godfrey:
Dukes of Hazzard style. Yeah. Good solid choice. Yeah. Okay. Well, we're really glad to have you driving with us and thanks for taking the time to chat.
Roslyn:
Sure.
Anthony Godfrey:
Thanks to our team of school bus drivers who participated in the safety challenge. If you would like to join the Jordan School District team as a school bus driver making a difference in the lives of children every day, we are hiring. We invite you to apply now at employment@jordandistrict.org.
Thanks to everyone for joining us on another episode of the Supercast. Remember, education is the most important thing you'll do today. We'll see you out there.