KINGSTON — They transport the world’s most precious commodity: children.
While the popular misconception — school bus drivers are handed the keys, take the bus for a few spins around the school, and if they didn’t hit anything they’re good to go — may still circulate, in actuality bus drivers undergo extensive training before taking a seat behind the big wheel.
“You would expect the training to be as difficult as it is or more difficult because we transport the most precious commodity around,” said Ron Lee, the North Kitsap School District director of Transportation Services for the last 20 years.
Reviewing the list of requirements to become a NKSD bus driver is a little shocking, or eye opening, to say the least.
In addition to the expected — must be 21 years old, must have two years of driving experience and a clean driving record — bus driver wannabes spend 40 hours in the classroom, another 10 hours behind the wheel with instruction, numerous ride-alongs with trained drivers and take a total of six tests before they’re given keys to one of the district’s 40-foot yellow vessels.
They also must undergo random drug and alcohol testing, be certified in first aid, be inked for a national criminal background check, have a commercial drivers license physical exam every two years and attend a three-hour inservice class each year.
“People have no clue what drivers have to go through,” Lee said.
He said if a driver moves from step to step and doesn’t miss a beat it takes three to four weeks to earn bus driver certification, all in the name of student safety.
One of the most important components of a driver’s training is learning how to manage a throng of potentially unruly youth while the wheels on the bus go round and round.
Lee said 10 percent of what a driver does is actually driving. The other 90 percent is monopolized with student management, which can be trying because the driver’s back is to the students and the driver must use a mirror to communicate while keeping their eyes on the road. He added riders cause a commotion three to four times per week, and on some of these accounts the driver actually has to stop and pull the bus over to remedy the situation.
“The biggest challenge is student management,” Lee said. “Driving safely is the driver’s primary job and then on top of it to try and manage 60 plus students behind you and you’re trying to do it in the mirror. It’s pretty tough.”
Safe loading and unloading of students is another topic that’s drilled during classroom training because that’s where kids are most likely to get injured or killed, Lee said.
Safety training and amber and red warning light precautions aside, Lee said approximately four car/bus collisions occur each year, and there’s been several close calls between backpacks and impatient cars attempting to sneak around the bus.
“Backpacks have been scraped multiple times by a car going around the right-hand side. Yes it’s crazy. It really is crazy,” Lee said. “Fifty to 80 percent of the collisions are people running into the back of the bus when it’s stopped and all the lights are on. It’s phenomenal, but it happens.”
NKSD has about 70 full-time bus drivers and 12 to 15 substitutes who’ve undergone the training requirements. However, Lee said there’s a shortage of school bus drivers nationwide and at NKSD it’s no different.
He said over the course of a year about 25 people apply, and after they’ve gone through all the training only a handful make it behind the wheel.
Nowadays Lee’s having to be creative and scramble to find willing drivers. He’s looking into various advertising avenues and the possibility of partnering with area school districts on advertising efforts, as they’re facing the same shortage.
But once the training is conquered, the drivers stand to reap some pretty substantial benefits — good pay, a flexible schedule, ample time off and opportunities to garnish additional hours on the clock.
