The conduct of students on a bus has a direct relationship to their safety. The position should be taken that no act or conduct that distracts the driver from safely manoeuvring the school bus through traffic and operating the bus safely will be condoned or tolerated. Swift and firm action must be taken by the driver to solve and correct these problems.

One of the first steps a school bus driver must take toward controlling student behaviour is to set a proper example. The driver should always practice good driving habits, take personal interest in the job, keep abreast of all advancements that take place in pupil transportation and take excellent care of the equipment.

Secondly, the attitude toward the job and toward the students is critical. The driver must realise that it is more important to be “respected” by the students than to be “liked” by them. Students can accept and will conform to rules and regulations, which are fairly, firmly and consistently enforced. Letting some students get away with breaking the rules in order to be nice so that they will like you is a sure way for the school bus driver to have trouble! This tactic will result in students losing respect for the driver.

Most of the general public and, to a degree, school bus drivers feel that a school bus driver needs only to be trained to drive the bus safely. There is much more to the job as a school bus driver than that.

The school bus driver should:

• Be the best defensive driver on the road
• Understand and obey all traffic laws
• Attend all training sessions
• Maintain the buses in excellent condition
• Never drive with excess speed
• Physically check the bus after every trip to be sure that no child is left behind
• Send an SMS to the Foreman after the last child is dropped off