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

I know right that is what I was thinking. I guess he wanted to teach them a lesson or something. They just ended up letting them both back on the bus.

Asked by This was years ago but.. almost 6 years ago

Smh. Sometimes you can't teach people and people are idiots.

What happens when a school bus has to enter gated neighborhood like how do you open the gate?

Asked by Mr. Dr. Professor Patrick almost 6 years ago

The bus driver is given the code by the association that owns the gate and generally like everyone else has to press in the code to open the gate. Some gated communities are open during certain periods of the day like commuter times to allow buses in and out. Some are open during the day and close only at night. Some require a remote to open and the bus is provided with that. There's ways around it. Some communities have a gate guard that will let a bus in and out.

What do you think of strobe lights? Well I guess everyone does not love those clear and amber flashing lights. Some say that aircraft cant use them during inclement weather becuase it makes visibility worse and that is when buses use them.

Asked by Dave about 6 years ago

We use them for visibility reasons. I have no issue with them.

Why do kids like to complain about the music that the radio is on when it is on their station most of them don’t even listen to it. They are too busy with head phones in, being loud, etc

Asked by Jsopdsofj over 5 years ago

Because sometimes they can hear that music over their headphones. I try to keep the music at a reasonable level so we all get along.

Why when I or somewhere else when a priority call goes out does no one shut the **** up?! They need to call, switch channels or figure it out theirselves. In a rare time when something happens they just don’t shut up! 56 is lost, 29 wants the principal, 67 is mad at another drive, 55 and 54 is having a conversation, 45 wants to know how to shut something off, and 27 is just bullshitting. I want to tell them to shut the F up but is not worth the write up. So how do I shut them up?!

Asked by The angry redneck over 5 years ago

First off that's hysterical because it seems the problem is everywhere. That happens in my district too. We even have multiple meetings and announcements on the subject but people still ignore policy. You should talk with your supervisor and see if he or she can make an announcement or have a refresher meeting.

Are the type D buses harder to drive then other types of buses?

Asked by Ronnie about 6 years ago

Type d buses are flat nose. Ive driven them before and they have benefits such as better turning radius than traditional buses. It takes a bit of getting used to because your drivers seat is 2 to 4 feet in front of the front wheels so you have to get used to swinging around a bit but its fairly easy once you figure it out.

Why are parents and students so mean to subs? They are just trying to do their job and they are yelled at they are too early, too late, made a simple wrong turn and can easly turn around. Also kids are usually for them then their regular driver.

Asked by afasdfa almost 6 years ago

Subs have a more difficult job than regular drivers because they do take the brunt of problems if a kid misbehaves or is not out at the stop. That being said no route is without problems and problem kids. The trick is to figure out how to approach it.