Texas Bus Drivers Awarded for Driving Skills, Safety Knowledge

HOUSTON — Bus drivers here showed off their skills in their school district's safety competition on Saturday, and four have qualified for the region's competition.

Bus driver Becky Keeling of the Telge Transportation Center placed first in the competition, which was held by the Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District (CFISD).

Edgar Casteblanco of the Eldridge Transportation Center was the runner-up in the event, followed by third-place Tuwandra Harris of the Eldridge Center and fourth-place Doralie Johnson of the Falcon Transportation Center. Linda Hair of the Eldridge Center was the fifth-place alternate.

In the Special Needs School Bus Safety Road-e-o, driver Carol Jauer and attendant Lisa Webb placed first. The runners-up were Jack and Cherie Overfield.

The competition is designed for school bus drivers to perfect their driving skills and improve their knowledge of traffic safety laws. It consists of two written tests and 10 driving tests.

“I always look forward to seeing our professional school bus drivers showing pride in what they do every day and competing with each other, all the while creating camaraderie with one another,” said Robert McDaniel, transportation training coordinator for CFISD.

Keeling and the runners-up qualify for the upcoming Gulf Coast Chapter of the Texas Association for Pupil Transportation (TAPT) School Bus Safety Road-e-o competition, which will be held at the Spring Independent School District Transportation Center on April 16. The top four winners of the competition will compete at the TAPT Annual Conference & Equipment Show in Beaumont from June 24 to 29.

The CFISD competition was open to the public and featured family-friendly activities. Companies that sponsored the event included AutoZone, O’Reilly Auto Parts, Pep Boys, Zonar, and the International Trucks of Houston.