There is a comment that was made when I started driving bus and it is said to every new bus during our training process. The comment is, “The safest person to drive your route is you.” I wonder when we hear that do we appreciate what that really means? Let’s dig a bit further and find out.
If you call in sick or do not make your route for some reason, someone stills needs to drive it. It is not as if we can just work harder tomorrow and get caught up. I believe all of our drivers are safe, but when we put a substitute driver on a route we are taking very important things away from that route.
First off, the sub driver does not know the ins and outs of that route as you do. If there are any special circumstances that they need to know about, is it marked on the map so the sub will know? For the most part, drivers are pretty good about making these things known to dispatch. I have found however, that this is not always the case. Every so often, there is a small piece of information that is unknown to a sub driver, maybe a custody change or temporary change. It’s is that lack of this knowledge that will bite us in the backside every time.
We use trainers, lead drivers, and our well trained “cove”r drivers out on the route if at all possible. Still, usually subs on the route do not know the route as well as you do, so they use extras caution to make sure they do not miss stops along the route. They also, do not know the students. I always tried to get the kids to help out a little with the directions. Is it always a good experience? No, it is not, and I have found out the hard way. As we, all know students will take advantage of a sub driver as much as they do a sub teacher. I once was a bit lost and asked the kids, “Which way do I turn from here?”
Now, from what I learned in school, there are basically four directions you can turn, North, South, East or West. Another, sometimes more simple way is to say left or right. These kids pointed every which way. A few of them were really trying to help me, while others were, in their words “only messing with me.” I finally pulled the bus over, studied the map some and then continued on with the route.
Another problem, maps printed for drivers from routing software \are not always updated. This can include a stop on the map where a student have moved, or they are no longer riding. Sometimes there are students that are on the bus and route, but not on the map. These kinds of things are a nightmare to sub bus drivers and leaves sub drivers making serious judgments for problems as they arise. I have learned to go the driver or route supervisor for the names of students whom I can trust to sit up front and assist me to make the route run smoother. I have had students who would give me landmarks to show exactly where to stop. This is greatly appreciated! I would always send a candy bar with the driver the next day to say thank you to that student.
However, when a student is helping with a route, you need to be ready for anything. Sometimes the student tries too hard. I once had a student who would tell me where the stop is after I passed it. I told him, “Tell me before I get to the stop so I don’t pass it.” Thinking he understood what I meant, I bravely put my trust in him. After that he started saying “stop” about a half of a mile from the actual stop and I spent the next half mile going about 2 miles per hour with him saying, “Just a little bit more.” As I would get within three feet of the stop, he would scream, “STOP!” I look back now and wonder how I was able to stay sane.
A route always has challenges for the regular driver, but for a sub driver it can be extra stressful. So, remember to keep those routes as safe as possible by putting the safest driver on the bus every day…you.
Darrel Christie is the assistant manager and student management coordinator at Bus Brown Company in Nampa, Idaho.
