As of May 25, 2008 I have been a stay at home dad for one year. During that time we, like many families have struggled to put bread on the table and gas in the tank. One day last winter I spoke to a friend at church who had asked about our family. He told me that he had been out of work for a while and had recently started as a substitute school bus driver. He asked me, “Have you ever thought about being a school bus driver?” I honestly have never thought of doing that. I used to be a substitute teacher years ago, and hated riding the school bus as a child.
My friend went on to tell me that school bus drivers had to complete a lot of training and get a special license – a Commercial Driver’s License (CDL). I thought “what do you need to know about driving a school bus, other than they’re yellow?” Then I attended a three day orientation put on by the State of Indiana and found out there was a lot to know about driving a school bus. Yes, school buses are yellow by state law. They also must stop at all railroad crossings, open their doors, and look both ways before proceeding past the railroad crossing. We had to watch movies about kids who were killed in school buses because of driver errors, poor planning and inadequate pre-trip inspections. I learned that the school bus driver is a trained professional, responsible for all the lives of the children on board their bus.
After those three days of training I had gained a new respect for the people who drive my kids back and forth to school on the school bus. I also wasn’t so sure I wanted that responsibility myself. However, I forged ahead and decided to learn more. I contacted my local school district (who had sent me to the orientation training) and scheduled to start training with an experienced and caring trainer. She would train me and another person to help us get ready to take the test for the CDL. We trained for a couple of hours two to three days a week for about 2 months. Prior to being able to go out on the road, we had to pass 4 written tests at the Bureau of Motor Vehicles for our CDL Learner’s Permit.
Once our trainer felt we were ready for our CDL Driver’s Test she scheduled a day for us to take the test. It was a three part test: 1. Pre-trip inspection, 2. Basic Skills, 3. Road Test. During the pre-trip inspection portion of the test we could not miss any part of the 4 point brake check, or we failed the test. I was so stressed out and nervous that I thought I would fail. I had to pay $100.00 to just take the test, and would have to pay it again if I failed. I kept praying for clarity of thought, and kept telling myself I could do it. And I did do it. I have enjoyed being a school driver and it has helped supplement our family’s income.
School bus drivers only work a few hours a day. Depending on your route, you can work about an hour and a half in the morning and the same in the afternoon. That leaves you a good 5 hours to do whatever else you need to do – work another job, home-school your kids, write articles on the computer. It has been an ideal job for our family. Many school bus drivers start out as substitute school bus drivers before they get their own regular routes. Some bus drivers just drive for an elementary school, and others have a double route where they take both elementary and the middle school/high school kids.
The job can be very demanding with all of the weather elements, and behavior issues with some of the children. However, overall it is a great way to feel like your serving your community. Another way to think about the job is that the school bus driver is the first and the last person from the school system that the children see for the day. So making a positive impression and a good experience for the kids is very important.
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