Return of the Safety Competition Sparks Excitement in School Bus Driver Ranks [NSTA Advocacy in Action]

In early July, I returned from Austin (Texas) – the site of the 2024 NSTA School Bus Driver Safety Competition (SBDISC). We were down in the Texas State Capital on June 29-30 to support the revival of this iconic event.

In the year 2020, we were supposed to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the SBDISC, but the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic conspired to cancel the event, as the Competition met the fate of so many other events and programs that year.

The next year (2021), even though the National School Transportation Association (NSTA) hosted its Annual Meeting and Convention (AMC) in Milwaukee, the volatility of the pandemic’s lingering effects made hosting a Competition that year an impossibility, as we were unable to guarantee that state and regional competitions could be hosted.

The Journey to Revive the Safety Competition

As you know, the local “Roadeos” provide the basis of support for the international competition, as the winners of these events are then eligible to participate to see who is the best of the best.

In 2022, NSTA went to Niagara Falls for its AMC, and the transportation gods were once again not in our favor. You see, as NSTA contemplated its summer meeting in Niagara Falls, the Safety Competition began scouting out potential courses for the Competition, which was originally to be held in 2021 in western New York. We focused on the parking lot at the Dwyer Arena at Niagara University as the potential site for the event.

As a result of the pandemic cancellations, NSTA had to push back its AMC locations by one year, so 2020 in Milwaukee became 2021 in Milwaukee. The original plan was to be in Niagara Falls in 2021, but that got bumped to 2022. And then, of course, as fate would have it, in 2022, Dwyer Arena underwent a paving project, so the Safety Competition Committee could not find another suitable location in western New York, and 2022 was lost.

After the disappointment of 2022, there was a noticeable loss of energy and enthusiasm for the Competition as some of the state and regional competitions began to fall by the wayside, and there was a sentiment that we may have seen the last of the Safety Competitions forever.

Through the grapevine, we heard that several states were still hosting the local Competition. During its Board of Directors meeting in Pittsburgh at the 2023 AMC, Board members heard about the pros and cons of hosting another edition of the SBDISC. It was not an easy decision, and the NSTA Board took a real leap of faith that reorganizing and recreating this event could be done. There were substantial logistical and financial impediments to overcome, so several compromise positions came about.

First, it just made sense that the Competition became a stand-alone event and was uncoupled from the AMC—this removed the challenge of finding a new site every year and the costs associated with those sites. Second, a permanent site would be beneficial for the long-term prospects of hosting an event each year, as it would not be subject to vetting, acquiring, and budgeting for a competition site every year.

A New Beginning: The 50th Edition of the SBDISC

Lo and behold, our host location in 2019, Hays CISD, stepped forward and offered its cutting-edge Transportation Facility as the permanent site of the School Bus Driver International Safety Competition. Then, several pieces began to fall into place, culminating in the 50th Edition of the School Bus Driver International Safety Competition.

This year’s program had fifty-three driver competitors from twenty-five states and one Canadian province (Alberta), and I would like to congratulate our winners:

• Small Bus (Type A): First Place: Dorthy Dorman, First Student (KS)
• Conventional Bus (Type C): First Place: Wanda VanZonnevald, Cherry Creek School District (CO)
• Transit Bus (Type D): First Place: Mark Miller, Bellingham Public Schools (WA)

Special acknowledgment also goes to outgoing Hays CISD Transportation Director Fili Bonilla, incoming director Cassandra Behr, and the entire Hays CISD team for supporting this outstanding event. I would also like to send a big shout-out to Beacon Mobility for being this event's Title Sponsor and Kevin Kilner and his team for all their support. With a permanent site and adequate notice, we will be sure to attract more drivers in 2025.

If you want to be placed on our SBDISC mailing list and assist with improvements planned for the 2025 SBDISC, please contact NSTA Headquarters at info@yellowbuses.org.