School bus drivers have one of the most important jobs in the school system. They are responsible for transporting the world’s most precious cargo to and from the classroom each day, while maneuvering a 25,000-pound motor vehicle. To ensure additional safety for our students and drivers, Fayette County school bus drivers completed a thorough defensive driving training class hosted by Fayette County’s transportation department.
The six-hour training class was conducted by Fayette County’s certified school bus trainer Dawn Wiley. Wiley received her defensive driving training certification after taking a 40-hour online course, passing an exam, and practicing defensive driving skills for several weeks.
The goal of the training class was for bus drivers to acquire the skills and knowledge of defensive driving, recognize common hazards in various driving environments, and react to prevent collisions.
All aspects of driving were discussed, not just school bus driving, but everyday driving situations.
Bus drivers also learned several child restraint systems, importance of seat belt use, and the difference between aggressive driving and road rage.
“The course covered everything from the rights bicycles have on the road to skid recovery, stopping distances in relation to speed, weight, road surface and tread wear of tires,” says Wiley.
Although school bus drivers are required to have defensive driving training as a part of their certification to drive a school bus, Fayette County’s transportation director Roxane Owen says, “This training is very detailed and will provide our drivers with the necessary skills needed to make them more safe drivers.”
Over 90 percent of Fayette County’s school bus drivers received the training and earned a defensive driving certification; Owen plans to offer another training session so that every school bus driver will be certified.
Beyond providing an extra layer of safety for students and drivers, another benefit of taking the training course is many auto insurance companies will offer discounts when their clients have a defensive driving certification.
In the future, Owen hopes to open this training class to other Fayette County school system employees.
