The National School Transportation Association, fresh off of its annual Spring Meeting and Bus-in last month in Washington, D.C., is preparing for its 2012 School Bus Driver Safety Competition in Milwaukee July 14-15.
School bus drivers from across the United States and Canada have competed each year since 1971, when the event was known as the NSTA Bus Safety Road-e-o. The association says the International Safety Competition “provides positive media coverage for the safety and security of the schol bus industry.”
Last year’s event was held in Baltimore and saw Larry Hannon of Centennial School District in Warminster, Pa., win the conventional bus competition, his third victory in a row and his seventh title since 1980. Meanwhile, Mark Miller of Bellingham (Wash.) Public Schools took home the transit title, and Russell Altizer of Montgomery County (Va.) Schools won the small bus competition.
Applications are due June 25. Participants must complete a written test before getting behind the wheel and maneuvering through an obstacle course that includes student loading, backing the vehicle, parallel parking and safely crossing railroad tracks.
