kandas-adventures

My First Roadeo

Last year I attended the regional school bus roadeo because my daughter's bus driver was competing and we wanted to cheer her on.  The drivers made it look so easy, that I decided to become a bus driver myself.  One year later, here I am as a nervous competitor.

The months, weeks, and days leading up to roadeo were filled with hours of after-work and weekend practicing.  We didn't know which buses would be used, so we practiced in all the types we had -- 37 footers, 40 footers, Bluebirds with horrible turning radius, Thomas buses with weird mirrors... each was so different to maneuver, especially when every inch counted.

I tried to store a mental picture of what I needed to see in each mirror for each event.  Depth perception was key.

The roadeo was being held 80 minutes south of our district, so I had to get up at 4am and be at base for a 5am departure.  We rode together in a little bus, one of our coaches driving us.  I was a nervous wreck.  Even though I'd watched a roadeo, I'd never competed.  Each year the roadeo is in a different location, and events are in an unknown order, and you just hope the bus they give you is a type you have driven before.

The driving part wasn't even the worst of it.  There was pre-trip inspection where we had to orally describe parts of the bus and pre-trip routine using very specific terminology ("cut" not "cracked" for one thing, but "cracked" not "cut" for another, and "damaged" for one thing, but "worn" for something else.  Mix up the adjectives and you fail).  It was similar to what we had to do for our Commercial Driver License test, but this was given in random sections, out of order.  Unfortunately there were two sections that both had "driver" in the title, and I got the two sections mixed up, so I failed.  Well, I got 51 out of 100 points, which was the 5th lowest overall, which was pretty dispiriting for all the studying I'd done.

Thankfully I did better than I expected on the driving maneuvers.  Out of 23 drivers only 7 managed to score ANY points on the parallel parking (I was one of them, though I had some deductions), and at the back-in stall only 11 managed to get ANY points (again, I got some points, not all)... the others got zeros.

There were blinding shadows, inconsistencies on the course set-up between contestants, and volunteer judges who weren't doing what they were supposed to in order to be fair, but apparently this happens every year and is just accepted.

I wore my number 3 shirt, because that was what I was aiming for, 3rd place in the Rookie division -- and that's what I got!  I knew I didn't have a chance of getting in the top overall, given that some of the drivers had been doing roadeo for decades.  Overall I came in 17th out of 23.  Not great, thanks to my low score on the oral pretrip, a few goofs on the course because I didn't understand or couldn't hear the judges, and then one event where a judge wouldn't let me set up properly, even though other drivers had been allowed to.

Overall I am happy I participated and feel I have become a better driver for all the training I underwent to compete in this precision driving challenge.

The roadeo was supposed to be fun, not just nerve-wracking, so here are some scenes from the day:

Team camps at School Bus Roadeo. I liked the Seahawks camp, with Space Needle on top!  There were awards for best team camp, and they were the winners.

Some teams had grills going and a full spread of food.

Not much of a camp for us... just a line of chairs near the action.

Our team went the snack food and cold picnic route.

On the way home we stopped at a drive-in and got fruit slushies.  Don't tell the kids that we had them on the bus! 

 

Then, we collapsed, many of us sleeping for the ride home.

Me included.  ZZZzzzzzz

Spring Bus Driving Adventures and Bus Roadeo Practice

I finally scored my very first-out-of-district field trip.  Another new bus driver from my class last summer got the same trip, too, so the day before the trip I picked her up in my car and we drove the route together, then had lunch.  

The day of the trip we decided I'd be lead bus, but it turned into "the blind leading the blind."  First, we waited in the bus zone at the high school, only to be told by dispatch when the group failed to show, that they were waiting for us behind the school instead.  By the time we got out of the bus zone, back on the street, and up and around the back of the school, we were 10 minutes late loading and the teacher was mad.  

Once on the road a reroute directive came over the radio because of an accident on the freeway -- no problem, I was prepared for that -- but it would add more time.  Then, as I turned toward our destination the teacher exclaimed, "Where are you going?"  

I handed her my routing paperwork, and she said it was "wrong," she had called to change it over a month ago, and we were supposed to go somewhere else (where I had never been and did not know how to get to).  I called dispatch over the radio and got the OK to go to the different location, and by the time we got there we were half an hour late.  

Oh, but the fun didn't end when I offloaded the students and teacher.  Not only did I not have proper directions from dispatch on where I was going, but I didn't have instruction on where to offload and park either.  The teacher told me to pull up to the front of the church to drop them, and then I discovered myself locked in, with the only way out being through a parking lot.  

Had I arrived earlier I could have used the bus loop off to the side (which wasn't recognizable as such as it was now clogged with illegally parked cars), or parked at the auxiliary lot and made the kids walk to the entrance.  

Somehow I had to get myself through the parking lot (designed for cars, not 40 foot buses) and over to the auxiliary lot where the other buses were.  As you can see in the photo above, I wasn't very successful.  I managed to get myself wedged between a tree, and on the other side of the bus which you can't see, a row of parked cars.  Luckily I found some other bus drivers to help me back up and see-saw my way out of there.  I was embarrassed, until I learned that I wasn't the only bus driver caught there.  Before I arrived there was apparently quite the back-up of similarly wedged buses.

On the way back to the high school we had a "meal stop" and got to go into a retail parking lot to park and wait while the students got fast food.   I navigated this parking lot OK, but let me just say that I dislike picking my way through parking lots of parked cars in a vehicle with a long wheelbase and a crappy turning radius.

I must have lost my mind, because a month later the same field trip came up for bid, and I signed for it. This time I'd be transporting middle schoolers instead of high schoolers.  AND, I'd be transporting my own daughter.  AND my husband, who signed up to chaperone just for the opportunity to watch me drive.  At least this time I knew where I was going, and where to park my bus.  Once parked, I went into the church and sat in the balcony doing embroidery while watching the choirs perform.  

I got more subbing as Spring emerged.  Typical was a route with 4 different schools, 3 different runs, 29+ stops, several different circuitous subdivisions to navigate, 150+ students in all, a road named "roller coaster" with a dicey backing turn-around on a hairpin turn, and an impossibly short amount of time to accomplish it in. Whew!

One leg of a 3 school route.  That's 26 stops for an elementary school. There is also a high/middle run, and a second elementary, each going to different areas.  Miss a turn or a stop and you call dispacth for direction on how to turn around (where?) and get back to that missed stop, meanwhile you'll be late arriving to the next school.

My least favorite (not that any of them are) turn-around in the district.  See that turn off which is a driveway to secluded estates?  Turning a 40 foot bus around on the shoulder there is a real test of character, especially when it is pitch dark.  It's a back & forth see-saw maneuver to get yourself positioned to get back on the road going the opposite direction -- without getting your tires in the ditch, scraping an overhead tree, or getting your nose into the roadway as you do it.  Once poised to get back on the road, you have to wait for an opening in the traffic which whizzes by at 50 mph (speed limit is 40, but few obey).  I think it is an accident waiting to happen.

Our district is notorious for steep, narrow roads with sharp turns.  Above is one of our buses that slid into the ditch on a sharply curving road.  An experienced driver on his own assigned route did this, not a sub driver!  The only way to navigate this turn with such a long wheelbase is to nudge your nose into the lane of oncoming traffic, and hope no one is coming. This morning there was an oncoming car, and as the driver tried to avoid a head-on collision, the bus went into ditch.  Look, there is NO SHOULDER at all!  Mental note to self: never sign on for this route.

As if subbing unfamiliar routes and going on field trips to unknown destinations wasn't stressful enough, I decided to sign on for the School Bus Roadeo competition.  First there was the Regional competition, then State, and then National.  I had no intention of going further than the Regional, since the date of the State competition was the same as our daughter's upcoming wedding, so I wouldn't have been able to go if I qualified.  I wasn't in it for the competition, but for the practice, so that I would be a better bus driver (and not get wedged in parking lots).

Practice began in March and happened 3 days a week after work (usually until 7 or 8pm), and Saturdays and Sundays a few hours at a time.

What fun things did I learn?  Parallel parking a 40 foot bus in a 46 foot space!  The first time I accomplished that (pictured above) I about lost my mind trying to figure out how I did it.  Then I had to make sure I did it accurately every time.

Then there was driving my bus through 5 sets of tennis balls balanced on little tubes, with only 1.5" clearance on each side of the rear tires.  Amazingly I did consistently well in this event, but again, I have no idea how I did it.  Steady hand, and good depth perception, I suppose.

The event I struggled most with was the right turn.  There are these two mats that you have to hit exactly on the black stripe with the rear tires.  Hitting the one going into the turn is no problem, but pulling in the rear of the bus at the end of the turn to hit that mat perfectly is harder than it looks.

The competition is coming up at the end of May.  We'll see how I do.

And to further expand my mind, I signed on for a shift of "Oiling," which is a midday job drivers can do to earn a little extra hours/money. Basically it is a detailed check of every bus engine, looking at fluid levels, belts, hoses, etc.

Two drivers go through the bus yard between AM and PM runs and examine each bus, topping fluids where needed, and making notes for the mechanics on which buses need attention (worn belts, leaks, etc).  The goal is to inspect each bus in the yard (150 or so), though some are out on midday runs or field trips. Buses we miss are checked later. "Oiling" inspections are done daily so our buses are kept in top condition, and potential problems are spotted before buses go out on the road.

Not a job I'd want to do every day, but it was fun, and I'd do it again if asked.

Finding My Way in a Big Bus

In January I began "subbing,"  as in filling in on routes when the regular driver was out sick or on an extended field trip.

From October 1 through December 20th I was in the "mentor driving" phase, where I was on another driver's route for 2 to 3 weeks at a time, familiarizing myself with the routine of taking kids to and from school, doing after school "activity runs," and honing my student management skills.

Subbing throws the concept of "routine" out the window.  Sure, there is the 10 minute routine of pre-tripping (inspecting) my bus before I leave base -- that doesn't change -- but each day it is a different bus, so quickly identifying where all the switches and knobs are adds variety.  Above you can see 3 drivers trying to help figure out a radio setting.  (The cell phone is being used as a flashlight).

The biggest challenge is finding your way on a route you've never been on, in areas you've never been to. 

 Can you count how many different roads named "1st" there are in the map below?  (You can click on the photo to see it full screen).

 

 That's right, there are SIX of them!

Two "NE 1st Cir" that don't connect with each other and are going different directions.

Two "NE 1st Pl" that don't connect

a "NE 1st St"

and a "SE 1st Pl"

 

There are days when I wish I could ring the necks of our city planners, for allowing developers to create subdivisions with such circuitous, narrow roads with sharp turns not designed for 40 foot vehicles.  Then I turn my frustration towards our routers, who don't ask kids to walk to subdivision entrances, and instead send our buses into these rat's nests of cul-de-sacs to pick kids up as close to their homes as possible.

 

Going through these neighborhoods is very disorienting, especially in the dark and fog.  You can't see signs, you don't know which way is north, and most cul-de-sacs and dead ends are not labeled as such, so if you make a wrong turn and end up down a dead end, you're stuck.  

Our area is very hilly, with 3 mountains, so when you look up a road you can't easily see where it ends, or it curves to accomodate the slope, and you have no idea if the road goes through or will end suddenly around the bend.

Of course it doesn't help matters when the same street has multiple names.  Or you are heading straight and the road signs change from SE to NE to SE again, within a matter of blocks.  Forget looking for house numbers, if you can even find them posted.  They'll go up and down and up again within one block.

Now take a look at the map below. Say you are coming down on SE 28th St, which becomes 216th Ave SE.  The routing directions (this is from a real route that I drove) say "continue on SE 32nd Pl," however the arterial turns to the right to become SE 32nd St, but SE 32nd Pl is a left turn, which quickly becomes SE 33rd Pl, and then of course you don't want to accidentally follow SE 32nd Pl into the dead end that it branches off to.  

 The route book we are given has plain paper maps, not always accurate, and often poorly labeled.  The driving directions, which give turn-by-turn instructions, are confusing, especially when there is a lack of road signage to help you know where you are in the first place.  And of course being told to "continue on" when you are in fact going off the main arterial and taking a left turn onto a side street, doesn't help matters.

We're not allowed to drive with any kind of GPS or mobile device, so in the driver's room we sit around and try to figure things out using aerial images from Google Maps.   We drivers share with each other the mistakes we've made, in hopes of saving another driver the ordeal of sitting in the bus with 60 squirrelly children at a dead end, waiting for up to half an hour for someone from base to arrive in the district vehicle and stand behind us and help us back out or turn around from the tight spot we've gotten ourselves wedged in. 

In the photo above, take a look at the dark red car on the left.  Does it look to be properly parked?  Why no, it is about 3 feet out into the roadway, on a curve, on an already narrow street.  That white car blocking the middle of the road is double parked, because there are no parking spots available.  This is a "master planned" community that was poorly planned with not enough parking.  The theory was dense development with businesses nearby would allow residents to live car-free, but the reality is that this neighborhood is off in a remote area, up a steep hill, a half-mile from public transportation, and every household has at least one, more likely 2+ cars.

The road in that photo above is on one of our bus routes.  It seems at least once a month there is a sideswiping collision in this development between our buses and passing or improperly parked cars.  I also regularly hear calls on the radio from bus drivers who are blocked in, and have to wait, often with a bus loaded with kids, for police or the school transportation administration staff to come help a bus go backwards on a road and make a detour down a different street.  Most rewarding is when the driver of the blocking truck/car gets a ticket, but usually the driver of the blocking vehicle shows "just in time" to drive off with only a warning.

In the morning we go out on our runs to collect kids and deliver them to school, leaving the yard as soon as we complete our pretrip.  In the afternoon we wait in the yard until our turn to join the "procession" so that the buses arrive at the school in a specific order.  One middle school is served by 26 buses, and you should see us packed in there at dismissal time. We park at a sharp angle in stalls, and then like a chain of dominoes set on end, fall away one at a time when given the signal to go.  In the photo above I am in my bus at the far end of the yard, straining to see the buses departing in the distance, making sure I don't miss my turn.  If I hesitate, it slows the whole parade, and soon a voice comes over the radio from another driver asking when I'm going to get going because I'm holding things up.  Sometimes the voice is kind, but other times there is clear irritation in the tone.  I bet other drivers hate subs as much as we hate being subs sometimes! 

 At another middle school we fill an entire city block, both sides, with 23 buses.  The view above is a normal day, when the road is clear.  At least once a week we encounter parked cars, so then our buses end up staggered in the middle of the road, which is not good if an ambulance needs to reach the school.  Our transportation department is in constant discussions with the different cities and towns our schools are located in, trying to work out reliable access for our buses through better signage and proactive ticketing/towing of vehicles that park in bus zones.  Like most people, I never thought about the politics involved in getting kids to and from school by bus.  

Every day is a new adventure as a sub, and I'm learning more than I ever imagined I'd need to know.  I'm sure I'll have plenty of stories to share with you in the coming months.

A Snow Day with School Buses

When the School District anticipates a snow day, a robo-call goes out to all the school bus drivers at 5am, telling them to report to work at the usual time, or a little earlier.

As a new driver, oddly enough I was looking forward to this day.  Above, view from my car as I make the slow and careful drive to the bus base at 5:30am.  I passed several cars spun out and stuck in ditches along the way.

Arriving at base, things don't look so bad. It's just a light dusting of snow, the kind that would make Midwesterners and Northeasterners laugh.  But it is what lurks beneath (a layer of solid ice), combined with the steep topography and narrow, rural roads many of our routes navigate, that causes indecision on whether to cancel school.

The district's transportation supervisor, director, and safety and training coordinator had all been out on the roads since 3am, assessing the situation.  The district owns it's own plow trucks for clearing the driveways and parking lots of school properties, and one stops by the base to report on conditions, and the news is grim.

 

By 6:30am about 125 of the 140 bus drivers had arrived at the two bus bases.  At 5:09am the district announced through an email blast to all families and staff that school would be 2 hours delayed, with regular bus routes.  At 6:25am a new announcement was made that school would be 2 hours delayed, and buses would be on SNOW ROUTES.    Meanwhile we drivers awaited the directive to go out and start chaining up our bus tires.

We had practiced this back on a warm, rainy day last summer before school started.

I wondered how well I'd do, given that I'd only done it once, under ideal conditions.  Thankfully I'd heard that drivers all helped each other, so there were many hands, and eyes to make sure you'd done it right.

When bus drivers get bored, we get creative.  Note the "toilet seat protector snowflake" one of the men made at main base.

While we're waiting, I'll show you some of the decorations around main base.  There are different themed tables, and a competition for the best decorated table.

The Men's table got first place this year.

Another half hour went by.  The sun rose.  The snow began to melt, but the ice below the slush remained firm.  We started to hear rumblings from dispatch that the district Superintendent was not agreeing with the Transportation Director's directive that school should be canceled.  With worsening road conditions, most of which involved spun out vehicles blocking major arterials, the decision was finally made at 7:15am to cancel school.

We drivers were dismissed from work and told to go home -- carefully.  It was the Friday before Winter Break, and class parties planned for the day were now cancelled, teacher gifts would not be delivered, and gifts kids had made at school to take home to give to their parents would have to wait until the New Year.  I worried about the kids whose parents had left for work already, telling their kids to go to the bus stop at a certain time, or walk to school, and had not heard the latest announcement that school was now cancelled.  How many kids would be waiting at bus stops for buses that never come?  Or home alone all day when their parents thought they were at school?  A lot of parents were unhappy that our district cancelled school.

A neighboring district decided to hold firm on their plan to go ahead with school, and they ended up having 3 bus accidents.  Parents in that district were angry that school was NOT cancelled.  So you really can't win.  When school IS cancelled, many parents are mad at the inconvenience.  When school is NOT cancelled, other parents are angry that buses are late or there are accidents.

Most of the bus drivers took off immediately when dismissed.  I clocked off with the rest of them, then lingered at base, waiting for road conditions to improve.  I studied the route books, because when school started again in January, I would be a substitute driver, put on new and different routes each day.   I was the last driver out, so I got to lock up the gate.  Bye-bye buses!  See you in January!

I was being followed by the snow plow on my drive home.

Bus Sheds

In anticipation of leaving the mentor driving phase, with an assigned route, and going into the "sub pool" in January, where each day I'll have to drive a new and unknown route on short notice, I decided to spend a weekend driving around the district, getting to know areas I'd never been to before.  Along the way I took photographs of some of the bus sheds I passed.  Enjoy!

One of my main reasons for "recreational driving" on the weekend was so I'd find these "Dead End - End of Maintained County Roads" and be able to scope them out before finding myself there in the dark and fog, needing to do a turn-around.

Our district has 3 mountains.  I'll be driving buses up all of them.

This simple shed on the edge of a busy road provides a clear view of the approaching bus, and seating for eight.

This one doesn't get much sun, and has a slimy patina of mildew and moss on the bench and walls.  Note the ivy growing on the floor, and the ferns growing on the roof.

 This tidy shed has a porch, doormat, pillows on the bench inside, and a window box.  I'll be curious to see if flowers appear there in the spring.

This gazebo is hiding in the cedar trees.  The orange cones help you spot it in the dark and fog.

This subdivision made a statement of status with their bus "shed."

Down the road a newly constructed, modern-style condo complex made a utilitarian metal shed about the size of an old phone booth, which could only hold 2 or 3 small kids at most.

A simple shed in the sunshine on a road our district drivers refer to as "Roller Coaster."

This one can hold a crowd, and has plexiglas windows and shingle siding.

I've saved the best for last.  Above is my favorite bus shed in the district.  When I stopped to photograph it I got to meet the family that built it, and it was fun to hear how they involved the children in the design and construction.  Let's look inside....

 

The back wall is painted with chalkboard paint, and a little box holds chalk.  In talking with the man who built the shed, he says he made a mistake and applied the paint directly to the OSB (Oriented Strand Board) used to build the shed, and that it made for a really rough surface to draw on.  If he was doing it again, he'd mount a sanded sheet of plywood, or some other smooth surface material.

The right interior wall has a painted tree, and each child's handprint in paint represent leaves on the tree.  Each school year when new kindergartners join the "bus stop crew," their hands are ceremoniously dipped in paint and their handprint added to the tree.

The left wall has a cute painting of the bus.

So there's just a few of the unique bus sheds I've found in our district.  There are many more to be discovered, I'm sure.

 

Two Weeks of Special Needs Runs

 

After 3 weeks of driving my first training route I was sent to the smaller satellite base to spend a week with each of 2 different special needs drivers.  My first week I was paired with a woman who had been driving "forever" and loved her job so much that she continued her career even after moving with her family more than an hour away.  She leaves home about 5 am and doesn't get home until after 6 pm.   Between runs she sometimes catches a nap in the back of her truck in the base parking lot.

My admiration of her goes beyond her dedication to the job... she truly loves the children, even the ones that are non-verbal and aggressive.  My first day with her we arrived at a school a little early, before the teachers came out to the bus.  She unbuckled the kids from their restraints, pulled out a Dr. Seuss book, and the kids gathered around her as she animatedly read to them.  It brought tears to my eyes.  I took a mental picture, because I can't photograph students, and I keep revisiting it in my mind.

In the 7 weeks of training I'd had to become a bus driver, I'd never been given the opportunity to drive one  of the "little buses."    The little bus was easier to maneuver than a forty-footer, but had more blind spots.  The wide body of the bus flared out from the Chevrolet cab just behind the driver's door, and  I kept seeing it in my peripheral vision over my shoulder, which made me feel like another vehicle was right beside me.  I was overly cautious as I learned my reference points and length, so of course we fell behind schedule.

Like most special needs routes, the AM run and the PM run were different schools, different students, and different neighborhoods.  Because my mentor driver was high on the seniority list, her runs were long: 4 schools in the AM, and 4 in the afternoon.  For efficiency our district has "staggered starts," so high schools start as early as 7:25, then middle schools about a half hour later, then an "early" elementary at 8:30am, and a "late" elementary at 9:15am.   Thus a single driver with an 84 passenger bus at full capacity could theoretically transport up to 336 students to school each morning! 

This run had a student in a wheelchair, so I got to hone my load/unload and "tie down" skills.  The hardest part though, was positioning the bus so there was enough room for the lift to operate.  The child lived down a narrow dirt road and I had to back into the bumpy driveway, hugging one side with ivy scraping the side of the bus the whole way.  Beneath the foliage was a chain-link fence that could do real damage to the bus, so I had to be extra careful not to get too close.

(I know of at least two of our 145 drivers who regularly commute to work by bicycle!)

The following week I was paired with a man who drove 3 schools AM and 3 schools PM.  My mentor last week was bubbly, talkative, and enthusiastically energetic.  My new mentor was different in temperament, but equally effective and adored by his students.  He was calm, he was gentle, and he spoke to his students with genuine interest in their lives.   Again, I watched the magic, in awe.  

By the third day on each new route I was on my own, and my mentor driver stayed at base as a back-up standby driver.  For some reason I took to the special needs runs easier than the big bus run.  I loved the personal interaction at each stop with the parent or the teachers.  I loved encouraging the kids to buckle themselves (I'd always double check and tighten straps, of course), and the sense of accomplishment they got at even the simplest task.  I loved how they would erupt into song, squeal with joy, and chatter in a language only they could comprehend.  It was music to my ears.

I feel like I have found my calling in life.   

Just Add Students...

I completed bus driver training.  I passed the test and now had my CDL with school bus and passenger endorsements.  Before transporting kids the district had one more test for me: the solo drive.  I'd spend one day looking at the district map and mapping out a route, writing it down turn by turn, taking me to each of the 24 schools in the 110 square mile district.  I had to remember from my training all the "no turn" intersections, streets our buses were not allowed on, and have my prospective route reviewed and approved by the routing department.

Here's Little K with the district map.  It is posted on a wall and I couldn't get far enough away to get it all in the picture.

The next day, after getting my route approved, I checked in at the dispatch window.  I gave them a photocopy of my route and they gave me keys to a bus to use.  The bus was the oldest bus in the fleet, the one that rattles and bounces so much that I really should have worn a sports bra to drive it.  It was the first time I'd be alone in a bus, driving by myself.  The test was not only to see if I could bring the bus back to base in one piece, but also if I'd get lost, drive off the road while reading my route instructions, and respond in a timely manner when called on the 2-way radio.

In the photo above you can see how my eyes are above the top of the side window and just at the level of the top of the windshield, and my head way above the headrest of the seat.  It may be a big vehicle, but the driver's compartment is not designed for a big person like me.  As a bus driver you have to do a lot of "rocking and rolling" in the seat to see around vision blockers like the side mirrors, but I had the added fun of "hunching" to see traffic signals and signs above, when stopped at intersections.

 Thankfully the newer buses (like #52 above) have larger windshields and better sightlines than the older buses (like #13 above).  Eventually I'd no longer have to hunch, but for the next couple years until I worked my way up the seniority ladder, I'd likely be stuck in the old buses.

The solo drive took place over two days, between the morning and afternoon transport times.  I made it to each school, didn't hit anything, didn't get lost, didn't go in the ditch, and answered the radio calls, but I was going a bit too slowly, and had to stop at several schools and go in to use the restroom, because my bladder was both nervous, and irritated by the rattling of the old bus.  The driver trainer who was to check in on me via radio was not happy at how slow my progress was.  

 

I was supposed to be back to base long before the drivers came in for the afternoon shift.  I pulled in as they were streaming in in their cars, and of course I was blocking their path as I tried to back the bus into its parking stall.  Somehow I miscalculated my angle, and after three attempts, backwards and forwards, I couldn't get it in the stall.  The line up of bus drivers in their cars, anxious to clock-in for work, was now backed up out onto the roadway.  Talk about embarrassment and pressure.  Hadn't I scored 100% on my backing maneuvers during the test?  Why couldn't I park this bus?  A driver in the car nearest me got out of her car and tried to give me hand signals and help back me.  When I still couldn't get it, she boarded the bus, told me to get out of the seat, sat down, and zipped that bus back into the stall in half a second.  

It turned out that the reference point I'd been using to begin my turn was only good if there was 50' or more of "run-out" room.  This stall was across from the buswash, and therefore I needed to adjust my reference point 5' beyond the usual, and crank it at a sharper angle.

I post-tripped the bus and went into the base to give the keys back to dispatch, and there were all my soon-to-be co-workers, who I had made late for work by blocking the driveway while trying to back my bus.  I was so ashamed, but everyone was cheering me on, assuring me it would get better, and being supportive.  I'm so fortunate to have such kind co-workers.  I was told that becoming a bus driver in our district was like joining a family, and I was feeling the truth of this today.

142 drivers and more than 150 buses.

After completing my solo driving I was paired with a mentor driver whose route I would drive for a couple weeks.  The first few days the mentor would be on board with me, coaching my interactions with students, refining my driving techniques, and teaching me things that aren't taught in the classroom.  

The first thing I learned was that there are all these areas the drivers refer to on the radio, and despite my living here all my life, I had no idea where they were.  "Accident at substation... backup at the teardrop... dead deer on roller coaster...signal out at 5 Star..."  

There was more than just the CB lingo to learn, beyond "Copy," "10-4," and "Over."  Some of these places were named after things that weren't there anymore, that only the old-timers would know about, such as long-gone buildings and businesses.  Another complicating factor was that our district spread out over 7 cities and towns, and a large unincorporated area.  That meant duplication in street names, so if a driver said "accident on 148th," that could have been in three different cities.  Most drivers recognized the other drivers by their voices, and knew if "John" was talking about a round-a-bout, since he drove the plateau, he was referring to that one, and not the one on the east side of the lake, or the one near the freeway in the north end.  There was so much for me to learn!!!

Route Books.  There are about 200 of them -- these are at the main base, there are more at the satellite base.  There is NO GPS allowed on the bus.

Monday morning I was at base at 6am, ready to meet my mentor.  She had called in sick, so one of my driver trainers drove the route.  My very first day on the route the mentor driver was to drive, and the next day I would begin.  I sat in the first row with the route book and observed.  I was grateful to see my driver trainer, who had not only been driving for years but was an instructor, make a few little errors as he tried to find his way on an unfamiliar route in an unfamiliar bus.  This was very comforting to me, since I was so worried and nervous about how I'd manage.  You see, after the mentor driving phase, which put me on 6 of the 200 or so routes, I'd then be thrown into the sub pool.  It could be a year or more before getting my own route, and until then I'd be doing different routes every day.

The route was one of the easier ones in the district: a high school / middle school run with 2 stops, loading about 30 kids at each stop, then dropping at the two schools. 15 minutes layover at a school (bathroom break), then off to get 70 kids from 5 stops and deliver them to an elementary, then back to base.  Repeat in reverse in the afternoon.

The next morning my mentor driver was back to work with a hacking cough, sitting behind me in the front row as I drove the route for the first time.  Several miles of winding rural roadway on the way to begin the route was in the process of being repaved, and had not yet been striped.  It was pitch dark at 6:30am.  It was impossible to see the edge of the road, and the dropoff was severe.  The speed limit was 40, but I was terrified and could barely bring myself up to 30.  I was unfamiliar with the road and it was very curvy, there were no streetlights, it was dark, and I was slowing down the traffic behind me.  My mentor driver spent the next few days urging me to drive faster, and I tried to obey, but I was scared out of my wits every morning until the sun rose and I could see.

Here's a stretch of that roadway just after they striped it (and in the daylight!).  You can see that on the first pass at painting the fog line they couldn't even keep the paint on the roadway, that's how narrow it is.  Imagine dropping a tire off the edge... you'd surely flip over.  

 My first weeks of driving our area experienced an unusual weather pattern: thick fog that never burned off during the day.  I was actually giddy when I came upon road construction because it gave me permission to drive slowly.  Despite her constant ribbing for me to drive faster, I loved my mentor driver.  She knew all her students' names.  She lived in their neighborhood and knew many of their parents and siblings.  She attended most of the high school sports events and cheered on the kids who rode her bus.  

The freeway at 5:30am as I head to work.  Most of the day it is solid with traffic.

 

Walking into "the yard" from where I parked my car, 5:45am

I've never been a morning person, but somehow I adjusted to getting up at 4:30am.  I didn't sleep well, had vivid nightmares of bus crashes when I was asleep, and had nervous stomach for weeks (and lost 8 pounds in the process!).  

These are the images that fill my dreams at night.

This happened in Seattle a few years ago.  Our very steep hills don't mix well with ice and snow. Please let it be a mild winter this year!

Despite the stress, I was in love.  I loved when the kids boarded the bus in the morning, the defroster heaters intensifying the way they smelled -- of curry, strawberry shampoo, or aftershave.  Some had obviously worked hard on styling their hair, others had serious bedhead. They were bundled in their puffy coats and curled up in the seats, bent over their glowing handheld devices in the darkness.  A few of the teens came aboard with fresh Starbucks (thanks, Dad!) or hot tea in a travel mug.  The rules say no food or drink on the bus, but the regular driver allowed the teens to if they kept the bus clean, which they did.

I loved talking with the kids as we waited to leave the school in the afternoon, hearing about their day.  They were so full of energy and excitement for the afternoon hours ahead, even if they did have far too much homework.

Sitting and waiting for 10 minutes because road workers have just painted a new stop line at the T intersection up ahead, and we buses are too long to maneuver fully around it, so we're "waiting for paint to dry."

My first week driving students I got to write my first "student conduct violation," and unfortunately it was a serious one, ending up in a suspension.  Our district has a person, or shall I say a "saint," who spends most of her day talking with parents and school principals about students who misbehave on the bus.  She reviews video tapes from the buses when there is an incident, works with the driver to help them manage students, listens to concerned parents of kids being bullied, talks in a non-threatening way with defensive parents who deny that their child misbehaved, and even rides along on routes that have student conduct problems.  It is a very difficult job and I have great admiration for her.  I was grateful for the support and guidance of this woman, herself a veteran bus driver who has likely "seen it all," or at least dealt with the aftermath of some very bad situations, from students with guns, to drivers that "lose it" and do regrettable things.  In fact, we're only 5 weeks into the school year and already a driver has been "given the opportunity to resign."

In the weeks that followed I learned to "pick my battles" with certain students, and had to pull over the bus several times (which isn't easy, because many of the roads are narrow, with no place to stop).  One time a bunch of middle school boys were throwing a banana around the bus like a football.  Luckily I found a place to pull over and was able to confiscate the banana before it exploded from its peel.  In three weeks I wrote 3 tickets on the elementary route, and gave many more verbal warnings.  Part of learning to drive a school bus... student management.

 One afternoon when I got back from my run there was this perfect heart-shaped cloud above the bus base.

I felt it perfectly captured my feelings about my new career.  Despite the challenges some days, I LOVE my new job as a school bus driver!

The Big Test

This post is the next chapter in the story of how I reentered the workforce and began a new career after "staying home" with my children.  You can read the first post about my finding this job here,  part one of learning to drive a bus here, and part two describing the pre-trip inspection test prep here.

The day of the big test had arrived.

It had been more than 20 years since I last took a driving test.  The commercial driving test is even more intense, since you are doing it in a 40' vehicle, and have to explain how everything works, from the alternator to the brake slack adjusters.  Needless to say, I was nervous.

 

There aren't too many locations where you can be tested for a school bus CDL.  You can't just pull up in a school bus at the local DOL.   The district had two testers they used: both were driver trainers for districts in other cities, who were licenced by the State to administer the test.  The driving courses were a little different: one had multiple live railroad crossings whereas the other had a single simulated rail crossing.  One was very hilly, the other mostly flat.  One had freeway driving that was nearly always 60 mph, while the other was in a congested area where the freeway was often at a crawl, allowing for slower merging.  

I was the first in my class of 3 to be ready for the test.  It was decided that I would go to the tester they hadn't used for awhile due to conflicts over their "teaching" during the test.  I was warned to be prepared for this.  It's a sticky situation: you are there for a test, and the tester tells you to do something differently that is not part of the test, nor required by law.  If you object, legally the tester can't mark you down for it, but it does irritate them, which can subconsciously affect the way they grade you.  If you do as they say, it is confusing, since it is not something you are used to, nor been trained to do.  

 

The morning of the big test, a driver trainer drove me 40 minutes to the test site, another city's school district bus barn.  The driver trainer went to a nearby coffee shop to wait while I underwent the 2 hour test.   I met the tester, a friendly older woman.  Supposedly she'd been "talked to" about not teaching during the test.  Tension was in the air.

 First up, the pre-trip inspection.  I covered prepping for that in my previous post.  Although I was trained to do the pre-trip in a certain order, she began by mixing things up.  I tried to focus on each part as its own section, so I wouldn't miss a step.  There are six parts to the brake test alone... forget one, or do it wrong, and you fail the entire test and have to reschedule.... and pay another $100.00 to do so.  

I completed the interior bus checks and we went outside where the real fun began.  This was where I had to stand at different places beside the bus and describe in detail the unseen parts beneath the bus, such as the suspension and brake systems.  I was going through the script which I'd memorized... first the front of the bus, then around to the front axle...

Steering box... Steering linkage... Springs... Mounts... Shocks... Tires... Rims...

As I moved down the bus I went down the list in my head.  Just after passing the middle exit door I'd tell about the Drive Shaft, then before reaching the rear axle I'd describe the brakes...

However, as I left the front axle and headed toward the middle exit door the tester didn't follow me.  She stood fast at the front axle, giving me the look that meant: "You have forgotten something."

What was I forgetting?  I was allowed to repeat myself, so I started the whole front axle spiel again

Steering box... Steering linkage... Springs... Mounts... Shocks... Tires... Rims...

I looked at her and told her I didn't think I was forgetting anything.  She said, "fine, continue."

Exit door... Brakes... Dual Tires... 

Back around to the engine compartment...

Fluids... Water Pump... Alternator... Air Compressor... Belts... Hoses... Clamps... Exhaust System... Frame... 

Around the other side of the bus... Fuel tank... Route Marker...

Before we reboarded the bus for the next part of the test she decided to grill me on the brake system.  "Didn't the front tires have brakes?"  I was confused about whether she was referring to the air brake system or the service (spring) brake system, and if there were differences between the front and rear braking systems.  What had I forgotten?   As I tried to understand what she was asking, I mumbled "I don't know," and I saw her marking points off the score sheet, clearly not pleased with my knowledge.  

The rules of the test said that you only had to explain systems once, even if they were duplicated at each axle or on the other side of the bus.    I didn't realize this at the time but the tester expected me to explain the brakes at the front axle, not at the rear axle as I had been coached to do.  This was her preference -- I could have described the brakes at the front or rear of the bus and still legally passed the test as long as I made clear that they were associated with the tires.  In fact, if you look at the score sheet above, you can see that the brake section comes after the rear axle and rear suspension on the checklist, so the order in which I did it should have been acceptable.

Apparently I'd passed part one, and we were proceeding to part two of the test: Backing Maneuvers.

We got off to a bad start.  She told me that I needed to adjust my seat higher to maintain a 90 degree angle of my spine and legs.  This didn't work for me because the old bus I was in had a lower windshield, and if I sat higher in the seat then I had to crouch over the steering wheel to look up to see overhead signs and traffic signals.  (I'm 6'2" and this bus was clearly made for shorter drivers).  I had to do as I was told, though, and that meant readjusting all my mirrors after readjusting the seat.  Were my sightlines still spot on?  My reference points still exact?  

She got out of the bus to watch my backing, moving about as I was moving, making sure I wasn't touching cones on either side.  She was also looking up at me, making sure I wasn't looking over my shoulder, and that I was moving my head from side to side frequently, which indicated I was using all of my mirrors as required.

Straight line backing... Offset backing... 45 degree Alley Dock Backing...

Somehow I not only performed all three accurately, I also scored 100% on all three.  I couldn't believe it. Just days before during practice I'd run over a cone for the first time, and was still shaken from that experience (the cones could be children I'd just killed).

Then came the final test:  On the road driving.  

With my seat in a higher position than I'd been comfortable with, we left the yard in a couple of sharp turns.  First up, railroad crossing simulated at a crosswalk.  I did fine.  Next, out onto a busy 6 lane highway.

Lane placement was essential.  I was dependent on the tester telling me in enough time which direction I'd be turning.  Left?  Right?  If there was a double turn lane, I had to be in the correct lane.

Minutes later I was entering the interstate freeway.  This was the course with low congestion and 60mph average speeds.  The merge lane was short, and quickly thereafter the right lane ended, not once, but twice, equalling three merges left.  At the next exit off-ramp, which I was told to take, there was road construction.  We are to maintain highway speed until we are on the ramp, and not slow on the approach.  However, I slowed on my approach, because there were construction workers.  Would I be marked down?  Had I slowed too much?  Too soon?  When I hit the ramp was I going too fast?  Oops, I should have put on my hazards when passing by them... At the top of the exit there were three lanes at a stop light and I was told to turn left.  The arrows painted on the asphalt were worn away and I wasn't sure if the middle lane was straight only, straight and right, straight and left, or all three.  I'd missed the sign going up the ramp because I was keeping my eyes on the construction workers.  I guessed the middle lane, and got lucky.

I continued on, driving past business parks, through residential areas, and on steep grades.  During this time the "teaching" I'd been warned about began.  First, I was instructed to override the automatic transmission and downshift on hills.  I demonstrated this as asked, but then was reminded several times to continue doing it, which is not how our district wants us to drive.  To demonstrate understanding and ability of shifting at some point is OK during the test, but to require it for the duration of the test with an automatic transmission is not.  

Next I was told to pull the parking (spring) brake when stopped at red lights.  This is not law, and not on the test.  It is a practice in the district the tester was employed with.  It is not practice in the district I was with, and not what I was trained to do.  This is where it got complicated, because something new is thrown in to everything you have to do when the light turns green and you're stopped at an intersection.  The first time, after doing all my checks for traffic, looking in all 7 mirrors, I of course accelerated and went nowhere, since I forgot to take off the parking brake.  Was I being marked down for this?  I didn't ask, and I'll never know.

I was relieved when I was told to return to the bus base, but I didn't know yet if I had passed the test.  I parked the bus and the tester and I went into the building.  My driver trainer was back from the coffee house and waiting.  We all went into a conference room and sat at a round table.  I had passed!  She didn't show me my score sheet, and I was too afraid to ask what I'd been marked down for, fearful that in reviewing it she'd find other things to mark me off for.  I didn't want to appear to be challenging any of her scoring.  I did ask what I needed to improve, and she confirmed what I already knew... I needed to bring up my speed on the freeway, and tighten up my right turns (I was taking them too wide, afraid of letting my tires clip the curb, which was an automatic fail of the test). 

My driver trainer drove me back to our district base.  At base I debriefed with the training supervisor.  After that I went to the DOL and turned in my forms and my learner's permit for a new license bearing CDL P1S1 endorsements with no restrictions.  Hooray!

Let my new career begin... 

School Bus Driver Training Part Two -- PreTrip Inspection Prep

This post is the next chapter in the story of how I reentered the workforce and began a new career after "staying home" with my children.  You can read the first post about my finding this job here, and part one of learning to drive a bus here.

There are three components to the CDL (Commercial Driver's Licence) behind-the-wheel test.  Pretrip Inspection, Backing Maneuvers, and On the Road Driving.  Although the Pretrip inspection comes first in the test, it is the hardest to pass, so our instructors saved the worst for last.  We started with 5 in our class but there were only 3 of us left now.  Would we survive the next phase?

To have even a remote chance of passing the test, you really had to get "under the bus" to understand what you'd be explaining to the tester.

I had no idea when I signed up to be a bus driver that I would need to know all of this.  How many people driving cars can explain in detail how their braking system works, or what type of suspension they have, and what it should look like?

Not only did we have to memorize the names of dozens of parts I'd never heard of before, but we had to explain how they all connected, the condition they should be in, and how they functioned.

 Thankfully our district has its own shop and team of mechanics on site, so we were able to get good visuals, including holding parts in our hands and seeing them in action.

Details and adjectives were of utmost importance on the test.  For example, a hose should be securely connected and have no abrasions, cuts, cracks, bulges, wear, or leaks.  Miss just one of those adjectives and you get points deducted for the whole thing.  And you have to repeat this litany of descriptive words for EACH hose... the air brake hoses, the hoses going in and out of the various engine components, etc.  

Can you just say the tires are in good condition?  No, you have to describe 12 features, each in detail, with the correct adjectives.

Ah, the engine compartment.  The first time I saw it I had no idea what I was looking at.  After an hour I could identify all the components, but I was still struggling to remember the dozens of adjectives for each little part and how it all connected.

The remaining 2 trainees (out of 5 that started the program) and I took notes, made flashcards, quizzed each other, and questioned our ability to learn all of this at our advanced ages.  

During the test we would have to verbally explain everything to the tester, and point to what we were talking about.  Below is a video of what it looks like in action, but for a public transit bus (the school bus test is even longer, since we have more equipment).  I must have viewed this video close to 50 times, and could hear this man's voice in my head as I fell asleep at night. 

The pretrip inspection part of the test takes about 20 minutes.

Below are scans of what I had to memorize and explain, verbatim, to the tester during the test.  What I'd highlighted in yellow are the parts I kept forgetting during our mock exams, and had to really work on remembering.

 

Next up: The big Test Day... Would I pass?  (Roughly 70% fail the first time they take the test). 

Back to School Fun and Losing Insurance Coverage

My husband left his job and with that went our dental and vision insurance (we're self-paying an obscene amount for health coverage through COBRA for 18 months).  Before our coverage expired we had a flurry of appointments, and found out just in time that both girls needed glasses!

Things have gotten really high-tech at the optometrist's office.

 

The girls with the frames they chose.  K needs glasses for distance, and her prescription is almost identical to mine.  I didn't find out I needed glasses until I was in my mid-twenties, and I wonder if I'd needed them when I was her age.  A needed reading glasses.
I went in for a dental cleaning.   3 hours later I was out of the chair with a temporary crown, and a hefty bill for nearly $1,000.00 (and that's WITH insurance).   The dentist I went to had just purchased the practice from the dentist I'd been seeing for 15 years, and I found it odd that when I went in for a cleaning he had the time to do a crown on the spot.  A month later a small cavity that was forming near the gumline on another tooth became so intensely painful that I was ready to pull it out with pliers over the kitchen sink.  I went back to the dentist to ask for the filling, and he told me I needed both a root canal AND a crown for that tooth, too.  He had time, so he said, "just lie back..."  I used the excuse of not having dental insurance (it would have cost $3,000 to do all he proposed) to flee the chair.  A few days later I went to an endodontist (specializing in root canals) for a second opinion and she said no root canal was needed ... I was correct that the cavity needed filling, but the crown wasn't urgent.  I will never go back to that other dentist again.

Little K was entering 6th grade (middle school is grades 6 - 8 here), and she went to orientation in mid-August.  She was NOT enthused about having to use a locker.  The school has a "no backpack" policy and upon entering school each morning all backpacks / book bags are to be put into a locker.  Students are only allowed to carry text books, notebooks/binders, and a small pencil case during the school day.  This means going back and forth to the locker between each class, and they only have a 4 minute passing period!

As always seems to be the case, the short kids get assigned the top lockers that they can barely see the combo dial on, and tall kids end up with bottom lockers.   The girl to the left of Little K above, seen with her mother, was nearly 6 feet tall, and would spend the coming year stooping to open her locker 7 times a day.  The girl to the right of little K is a petite 4'8" or so, and you can see her up on her tiptoes.  Swapping lockers is not allowed.  It makes no sense.

The challenge continues.  Who will be the first to succeed at understanding how a combo dial works, and be able to open their locker?

Little K eventually figured it out, then sat there for 10 minutes practicing, repeatedly closing the locker and redialing her combo until she could open it in record time.  Note all the other kids have left.  That's Little K, always determined to master everything she does to perfection.

Around town signs of the impending school year were popping up everywhere.

Before we knew it, the first day of school was upon us.  Since I would be at work long before they woke up they would be responsible for packing their own lunches, or convincing Daddy to do it for them.  I was grateful to be relieved of this duty, because for years I could pack an identical lunch and one day they'd complain it was not enough and they were starving, and the next most of it would return home uneaten and they'd complain it was too much to possibly eat in one sitting.  The girls would really rather buy lunch, given that middle school offers an array of choices, but we can't afford it.  I think we'd actually qualify for reduced cost school lunch now, but we'd rather they eat a more nutritious lunch from home.  You can read more about my feelings on school lunch here.

Although there was a bit of drama and chaos getting ready the first morning of school, they eventually got it together enough to pose for a photo before walking to the bus stop.  I did not do any "back to school" shopping this year (except for their glasses and some notebooks and binders).  They are wearing a combination of items from previous years' end of season sales and thrift stores.  Their backpacks are 3 years old.  The only "new" item in the photo is the T-shirt A is wearing for her leadership role at school, helping the incoming 6th graders find their way around campus.


The girls getting ready to board the bus for their first day of school!  I was given the day off from bus driving school because all our driver trainers would be busy working out the kinks of the first day of school.  Actually the first week of school is crazy for bus drivers as they train the kids not to run out in front of the bus and deal with parents who chase the bus.   There are also kids getting on the wrong bus after school, missing the bus, and parents who don't show up to get the younger students, and the driver can't just leave them on the side of the road.

When the girls came home from school the report was positive.  They liked their teachers, reunited with friends they hadn't seen all summer, and somehow survived opening their lockers 7 times and getting from one class to the next in less than 4 minutes.  I think it will be a good year!

Now if we can just keep everyone healthy....