We are extremely proud of the way our bus drivers compete each year in this competition.”Mike Floyd, Cullman County Schools Transportation Director
CULLMAN – Cullman County recently had three school bus drivers place top 10 in the State School Bus Safety Road-E-O Competition. The competition was held at Montevallo, Ala. June 18, 2015.
Cullman County Schools Transportation Director, Mike Floyd, stated, "Our three representatives did extremely well in the competition bringing home 1st, 5th, and 9th place awards. Almost all counties in the State were represented and for our school bus drivers to bring home 3 of the top 10 awards is quite an accomplishment. Our Superintendent and School Board representatives along with me and Rena' are extremely proud of their accomplishments. I would put our Cullman County school bus drivers up against any other bus drivers in the state when it comes to driving skills and student safety.”
Bus drivers enter the State School Bus Safety Road-E-O contest annually to put their driving and school bus safety skills to the test against other drivers from across the State. To enter, each driver must not have a driver-faulted accident during the current school year.
There are 11 events the driver must go through to complete the contest.
The first part of the competition begins with a pre-trip inspection.
Pre-trip inspections are made every time a driver drives children to make sure the bus is safe for transporting students to school and back.
For the contest, judges make five items faulty on the bus and give participants a time limit to attempt to find the problems.
The objectives of the contest are:
- To motivate reinforcement of learning and implementation of good practices involved in superior job performance as a school bus driver.
- To recognize excellence and provide for demonstration of the skills and responsible performance of the demanding job of the school bus driver.
- To develop public awareness of the skills and responsibilities involved in the job of a school bus driver.
- To encourage communication between drivers to share awareness and experience.
“We continually stress student safety with all of our school bus drivers and this competition allows competitors to compare their ability in driving skills and student safety with drivers from other parts of the State,” Floyd said. “We are extremely proud of the way our bus drivers compete each year in this competition".
Terry Bentley, a Child Development Center school bus driver, came in 1st place this year making him a three-time state champion. Bentley won first place in the state competition in 2009, 2013 and again this year.
“It’s real competitive; I just love to compete and try to win, even if I don’t always win,” Bentley stated.
“The practicing that we do before and during the competition makes you more aware. Especially student pickup, which is when you’re picking up a student.”
