Did you know that school children are about 70 times more likely to get to school safely if they take the school bus instead of travelling by car? As the most regulated vehicles on our roads, school buses are heavy and distribute crash forces differently to passenger cars, vans, and trucks. They have energy-absorbing seats, high ‘crush’ standards, and rollover protection features. Even in buses without seatbelts, a safety feature called ‘compartmentalisation’ protects passengers in the event of a crash, keeping them ranking high in ‘safest vehicles’ for children’ statistics.
Local Yass bus driver Brett Bush said that his bus company, Bush’s Yass, now has seatbelts in every bus, which has been many years coming. In addition, a plethora of new safety features in today’s buses have been introduced, such as fire suppression units in engine bays. Brett reminisced on his own boyhood catching the Jerrawa school bus, which he now owns and drives. “The newer buses these days, compared with the buses I went on back in the late 60s and early 70s, is unbelievable.”
Further adding to the safety of school buses are road improvements. Especially over the past three years, country roads in Yass Valley have upgraded to better classes of road, making it much safer for buses and making buses easier to maintain and operate.
“Any improvements to roads is always gratefully appreciated, not only from the bus drivers but the community in general,” said Brett.
A day in the life of a bus driver starts early, with a 6am pre-departure check of all the buses and review of any instructions from parents advising whether children will need to be picked up.
After picking up and dropping off children, drivers return to the depo around 9:15am, where they carry out the end-of-shift check to make sure all passengers have left, and nothing remains on the buses. Throughout the year, school buses do some charter work in between school hours, such as taking school excursions to Canberra or Goulburn.
Come 3pm, it all starts again. After another pre-departure check, children are delivered home, drivers return at 5pm, and do the end-of-shift check to make sure everything is fine for the next day.
“It’s a good job, the kids are great. It can be challenging, with 57 different personalities on the bus, and different age groups. It can be a bit hard when you’re trying to concentrate and drive and you have two or three arguing or playing up. We’ve got to pull up at times and have a chat to the kids and re-seat them,” said Brett.
“It is safer to travel on the bus, especially out on the contry roads. Drivers have really got to concentrate, you’ve only got to take your eyes off the road for a moment and it could end in disaster.”
To help bus drivers deliver their precious cargo home safely, Brett urges drivers not to race buses.
“Don’t try and race the buses, they’re a little bit slower taking off. I’ve been driving trucks for 30 years as well, and it’s always ‘try and beat the truck,’ or ‘try and beat the bus,’ and that creates a problem.”
Pedestrians can also be safe around buses by staying away from the curb and being mindful that the bus driver may not be able to see them,
“You’ve got blind spots in your mirrors, you’ve got to be leaning forward and leaning back, especially when you’re turning left. Sometimes the bus might ride a curve if it’s a bit tight or someone’s a bit close to them. People should stay back from the gutters whether it be a bus, car, or truck,” explained Brett.
Recently, Yass Public School saw a major upgrade to its bus stop and pick-up zone, which bus drivers are pleased with. Brett said the new model is less time-consuming and much safer, with all the drivers he has spoken to also offering positive feedback.
“Before we used to have parents and kids walking in between buses and it was really dangerous, there were cars pulling up in front of cars. And the time factor— it was a bit of a nightmare. They’ve done a really good job,” he said.
What Brett loves most about driving buses are the people, especially the children.
“I’ve had kids that have left school for a few years who are still in contact, they’ll see you somewhere and pull up for a yarn. You see them grow up, and they turn into good people, it’s really great to see,” he said.
“I’ve had a couple on there from kindergarten, who are just leaving school this year, who have just made the Australian Schoolboys Rugby, and I’ve known them since they were little fellas!
The kids talk about things; they all have their different sports. Some like their farms, some like to go clay pigeon shooting, and some like their League. It’s a diversity of different things and I enjoy that.”
Compelling safety statistics and new features are excellent reasons why school buses are a good choice for getting children to school. However, these reasons are just one part of why school buses play a great role in the Yass community. With bus drivers like Brett around town, and a few schoolmates on board, one could venture a guess that riding the bus is 70% more enjoyable, as well as 70% safer.
(Statistics from the American School Bus Council)
Southerly Jones
