Unexpect the expected

I enjoy my job, but you probably wouldn’t describe it as “thrilling” if you saw me in action.

My work days are mainly spent stationed in my office interacting with a computer and calling people to ask them questions. I usually have a pretty good idea of how a given day will pan out.

Sure, I get the occasional off-the-wall e-mail or phone call. Not too long ago, a guy who had just bought an old school bus called me to ask where he could take it to have a hot tub installed. I certainly didn’t see that one coming.

By no means am I complaining here. Predictability has its perks. But when I think about the array of surprises that school bus drivers face, my line of work seems a bit tame. Of course, when you have a few dozen kids in the cozy confines of a bus, strange things are bound to happen — from a kindergartner’s amusing comment to a scuffle among high-schoolers.

But it seems that the strangest incidents are those that originate outside of the bus.

Harrowing tales
One particular story that stands out in my mind is from 2003, when a naked man hijacked a bus full of special-needs students in Homestead, Fla.

After allegedly breaking into a home and stealing a gallon of milk, the unclothed 26-year-old jumped in front of the bus, broke the door open and forced the driver to take him to a hospital, where he was apprehended.

The driver, aide and 12 middle school students on the bus were not injured, but the stripped stowaway hurt his hand when he smashed it into the bus door, police said.

In a more recent and perhaps more frightening story, a bus driver in Chesapeake, Va., sustained a deep facial and neck wound when two trees fell on top of his school bus during a storm in late May.

According to a report in The Virginian-Pilot, driver Steve Knapp stopped the bus and asked, “Is everyone OK?” before realizing that he was bleeding profusely. Two of his passengers grabbed a first aid kit and handed Knapp sheet after sheet of gauze to soak up the blood. Other students called 911.

At the hospital, at least 200 stitches were needed to close up Knapp’s wound, which came about an inch from his carotid artery. Despite the trauma, Knapp told The Virginian-Pilot that he planned to return to work less than two weeks after the incident.

Think fast
Those may be extreme examples, but these kinds of things do happen. Even with the many hours of instruction that school bus drivers undergo, there are some things you just can’t train for.

Not only do pupil transporters constantly have to be on their toes (figuratively speaking), they often have to make quick and critical decisions. It is not a job for the lackadaisical.

The more I come across stories like those above, the more I’m in awe of the duty our school bus drivers carry out day after day.

As I sit here at my desk, pushing buttons on a keyboard, I’m just wondering when the phone’s going to ring.