I heard that A's bus driver was competing in the regional school bus roadeo. I thought it would be fun to go and cheer her on, and she replied, "Well, if you like watching buses go VERY SLOWLY..."
The Roadeo was held in a high school parking lot a few cities north of us, really early on a Saturday morning. A wasn't so happy about not being able to sleep in on a Saturday, but she was eager to come along once she rolled out of bed. She was the only student to attend, and I was the only parent of a student. Everyone else there was either a bus driver or the spouse of a bus driver. There may have been a mechanic or two on hand also.
The drivers came from many different school districts and had been studying and practicing for months. In addition to the road challenges, there was also a written test. The drivers had to know everything about a bus, including all parts of the engine and braking system, and be able to explain how everything worked (and what to do if it didn't). Then there were questions on the rules of the road, laws and regulations, and those terrible trick questions everyone hates involving numerical statistics one can never remember, such as this one:
The average perception time for an alert driver is:
a) 5&1/2 seconds
b) 3&3/4 seconds
c) 2&1/2 seconds
d) 1&3/4seconds
The road test looked daunting. The hosting organization arranged for the buses, which were brand new, and which almost none of the competitors had ever driven before. This was a real challenge because the controls were in different places, and the sight-lines and mirrors were unfamiliar. The competitors had no opportunity to examine or drive the bus before their turn in the competition. The buses moved slowly through the course, but if they paused while performing a task, such as backing up, points were deducted. Wheels had to keep moving until they completed the task, then the driver honked the horn and judges descended with measuring sticks and clipboards to evaluate. Back-in parking, parallel parking with only 3 feet to spare on each end, sharp turns without hitting a curb, weaving through obstacles... it was slow, but a nail-biter none the less.
This challenge seemed the most onerous to me: getting the back dual tires through 5 sets of tennis balls with only 1.5 inches of clearance on each side. The tennis balls were balanced on little tubes and tumbled off so easily, with the slightest vibration, so you had to be going very slowly... however if you hesitated and the bus stopped moving, points were deducted. I watched competitor after competitor fail to get through without knocking over at least one tennis ball, but then A's driver moved through the course flawlessly.
In case you are curious about just how intense and thorough this competition was, here's the handbook for it.
In the photo above you can see A's driver concentrating mightily while looking in the mirrors for the back-in parking task. She is an amazing woman, 5 feet tall and all muscle, and when not behind the wheel of the bus she can be found on a bicycle training for or competing in grueling bike races of endurance and speed. Despite her competitive streak she is warm, kind, and easy-going. It was an honor to cheer her on, and she placed 5th overall. Our district's team won the team championship.
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