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debi6emort
Active Member
USA
11 Posts |
 Posted - 04/17/2008 : 08:40:38 AM
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| HELP!! what is your policy on backing up in a school bus...especially if its not necessary...need feedback... |
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JC Theriault
Top Member
Canada
1326 Posts |
Posted - 04/17/2008 : 11:01:13 AM
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Place that operate like Kodie describes are obviously not able or willing to properly train their drivers in the art of backing up a bus. Almost the same situation when it came to getting all automatics because it was easier than training someone to drive a standard.
I learned to back up a bus into narrow country driveways and take care to make sure everything is clear before backing up, even getting out of the bus and walking all the way around to check for crumbling ditch edges etc if need be. You back up then drop off or pick up then back up depending on the stop purpose and you don't back up where children are out and about (ie. a school yard) without a spotter.
But to get stuck somewhere and have to call for a spotter when the manoever can be safely made is nothing more than a waste of time and shows a lack of proper training for the job. Some of these driver trainers could use a lesson at one of the paintball war places where I used to drive charters. You could back all the way down the .75km narrow logging road or simply drive in then get ready for the 25-30 back and forth motions to get turned around between the trees and buildings. I got real good at both ways.
JC |
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mlkdrives41
Top Member
USA
2055 Posts |
Posted - 04/17/2008 : 3:47:57 PM
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In the garage we have spotters and if someone isn't out there when you pull in then they will send someone to help. We have poor lighting and poles in odd places to complicate the maneuver. Even the best drivers catch a clearance light or a crossover mirror on a pole from time to time. If we go out on a trip after hours then we pull the bus in and not try to turn around without a spotter. They can move it in the morning.
Otherwise it is use caution and if you have an older (trustworthy) student on the bus they can watch for obstacles.
In our state it is AGAINST THE LAW to back a school bus in the bus zone. Sometimes you just have to wait until you have enough room to get out. |
Nothing great has ever been accomplished without enthusiasm! |
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NathanW
Advanced Member
United States
313 Posts |
Posted - 04/17/2008 : 4:12:39 PM
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| We are supposed to honk our horns to augment the back-up alarms. There is no way that we could do most of our runs without backing up. I do one run that I have to back-up eight times before I'm done (dead-end turn arounds). |
Nathan--Driver Extraordinaire |
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Lifestar Fe
Top Member
United States
521 Posts |
Posted - 04/17/2008 : 4:29:56 PM
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| Yup, almost all runs here have a back-up in them. My run has 2-3, i think. Anyway, the driver has to honk the horn (even in the yard) and then be sure nobody is in the way. If on a narrow road, sometimes the driver will have a kid in the back yell to them if they are too close to a ditch or post or something. The driver always lets kids on before backing at a stop, and lets them off after backing at a stop. |
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bus724
Top Member
USA
1609 Posts |
Posted - 04/17/2008 : 5:09:13 PM
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Backing is pretty common here. All of us have to back up at least 2 or 3 times on a route, either at an intersection of 2 back roads (very little traffic, low speed limits, good sight lines) or into private driveways (same conditions). The geography of our town requires this...if we tried to do our routes without backing up, some buses would be on the road for 3 hours.
In most turnarounds, we back into the driveway off the road. Pull up past the driveway (looking to make sure it's clear), then back in. If the turnaround is also a bus stop, either load before backing or back before unloading.
Weather can present some challenges. It's bad enough trying to back up in complete darkness at 6 am, try doing it with your mirrors completely fogged up. I taught myself to use reference points just on the left, so I can lean out the window to look if I have to.
We also routinely back up in the school parking lot. We have to line up in a specific order in the afternoon, but don't always arrive in the right order. Students are sometimes present on the other side of the lot, but never without teacher supervision.
We had a spare driver sent to cover a run from another (much more urban) location. When she looked at the run sheet and saw she had to back up, she freaked out and went home--apparently they NEVER back up there. |
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sbd37091
Senior Member
93 Posts |
Posted - 04/17/2008 : 7:35:22 PM
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Most of our routes have "turnarounds" which require backing into a driveway. This is done without a "spotter" on the ground.
However, we are not allowed to back up on school grounds without a spotter on the ground.
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NathanW
Advanced Member
United States
313 Posts |
Posted - 04/18/2008 : 3:38:24 PM
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| I had to laugh at Phil's (bus724) story of the driver leaving. We had to use about 5 drivers from the city at the beginning of the year and they would come up here and be ready to leave. We have turnarounds all over the place and the roads are all windy and hilly. Then they would hear about stories of Moose all over the place and freak out. They don't know how we do it. *shrug* We just do it. |
Nathan--Driver Extraordinaire |
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bus724
Top Member
USA
1609 Posts |
Posted - 04/18/2008 : 3:43:03 PM
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| Oh I forgot one. Having to back into the closest driveway when you come around a curve and there's a 15-foot wide farm tractor rolling towards you. |
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Bus Boy 39
Top Member
USA
1315 Posts |
Posted - 04/19/2008 : 05:10:25 AM
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| Backing in the district I drive for is very common. I drove a route once that had nine back ups. Backing is simple, if you had a good trainer. Four ways, blow your horn, check the mirrors and proceed with caution. We don't need a spotter to get the job done. Backing a bus is part of the job. |
I'll show you my air brakes if you show me yours. |
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debi6emort
Active Member
USA
11 Posts |
Posted - 04/19/2008 : 05:44:46 AM
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The Key Word in this Question about Backing Up is When not Necessary.
Should a driver back up when it is not necesary?...i have a driver that continues to back her bus up when it is not necessary. ex. Her bus is park ready to load at school...when a parent asked her to back up to let her out of a parking space....should it be done? |
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NathanW
Advanced Member
United States
313 Posts |
Posted - 04/19/2008 : 1:09:12 PM
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Debi6emort,
In that instance...NO, I would not back up. I'd tell the parent they shouldn't have parked there, at that time, in the first place. All of our schools have signs posted saying when the busses will be there. |
Nathan--Driver Extraordinaire |
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Lifestar Fe
Top Member
United States
521 Posts |
Posted - 04/19/2008 : 2:20:27 PM
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| No. The parent should be able to wait the 5-10 minutes the bus takes to load students, or not park there. If the bus was not where it shuold have been, and kids were not out of school yet, then yes they should back up. |
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98tc2000
Senior Member
USA
97 Posts |
Posted - 04/20/2008 : 07:30:35 AM
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| this reminds me of a funny story one day the bus in front of us had a sub driver and she prked in the wrong spot so she had to back up so our driver 2 wayed her she started to back and she backs over the curve |
Bus 20 A 1998 Blue Bird TC2000
  
Bus 35 A 1999/2000 Blue Bird TC1000
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MeowLeFae
Senior Member
USA
54 Posts |
Posted - 04/21/2008 : 8:02:09 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by Lifestar Fe
No. The parent should be able to wait the 5-10 minutes the bus takes to load students, or not park there.
We had an incident like this recently at one of our schools. Parents who pick up their children have their own loop to do so. However, this one woman, apparently thinking she could beat the parent crowd, parked in the loop where the busses line up and ended up getting blocked in. Our buses park almost bumper to bumper at the school, so the bus driver couldn't have backed up even if she wanted to. The woman was livid, and even tried driving out across the lawn! All she managed to accomplish was putting a couple of deep grooves in the lawn because she got stuck in the mud. She ended up having to wait for the busses to move, and by that time the parent loop was almost empty. |
"Bet you never smelled a real school bus before!" (From Ferris Bueller's Day Off) |
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Jerred
Senior Member
United States
73 Posts |
Posted - 05/06/2008 : 3:01:12 PM
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| Here I don't think there is a policy on backing up. If you need to back up, you can. They don't use "spotters" here. They just use the most important tools, the mirrors. But my driver occasionally did ask us in the back if she was ok. But no, no policy, I believe. We used to back up quite a bit early this year. It was about every day. It was a certain reason for this though. |
So, I'm not as I seem...ok...just accept me. Just try to. |
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Topic |
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Backing
