God Bless Our Subs

Jim Ellis | Contributing Editor

Life’s twists and turns can be pretty funny. Years ago I wrote a training program about substitute drivers titled “The Most Difficult Job In Pupil Transportation.” Recently, returning to a school district after a good while away from the trenches, rustier than the tin man after a rain storm in terms of bus driving skills, I suddenly found myself thrust into precisely that role: driving a route I didn’t know, in an area I’d never been before, in a vehicle I’d never driven, trying to decipher a route sheet that seemed to be written in Greek, the energy of 60 kids buzzing behind me like an electrical storm about to strike.

The sheer concentrated terror of being a sub came back to me full force.
The kids and I survived that experience, and I can almost laugh about it now, but unfortunately substitute drivers have been involved in some unforgettable tragedies over the years. Being a driver on a regular route is challenge enough. Being a sub increases the risk significantly.

Knowing the routes, the vehicles, the kids, and “the ropes,” experienced drivers usually make the best subs, but contracts and work rules don’t always allow that. Many new school bus drivers start out as subs. I suspect our industry loses many potentially decent drivers who just can’t tolerate that initial trial by fire.

The inherent challenge of being a sub can lead to some dangerous bad habits, like trying to make up time. Unfortunately, I’ve known more than a few subs who were the worst “rushers” in the fleet. This is extremely dangerous. A sub that starts out late (i.e., because the regular driver called in late) should finish late! If anything, a sub should be slower than the regular driver, more carefully checking the danger zones around the bus for the unknown and unexpected.

A related bad habit is the “just get ‘em off the bus as soon as possible” mentality. Subs who haven’t figured out how to establish a quick rapport with the kids sometimes just put the pedal to metal and drive, baby. Realizing the driver has thrown up his or her hands and is paying zero attention to them seldom brings out the best behavior in kids. Substitutes who tune out the kids often drive like they’re in a race. This is a perfect recipe for a tragedy.

The ability of a sub to drive safely is hugely dependent on the regular driver, of course. When you put on someone else’s clothes, you learn a lot about their personal habits. If the regular driver enforces safe student ridership it will show when a sub is doing the run. Subs quickly learn which drivers in the fleet take student safety seriously and teach their kids critical safety procedures like “checking before you step” off the bus and waiting for the driver’s signal before crossing.

The most insidious trap a regular driver can set for a sub is not keeping the route sheet up to date, or making unauthorized changes to bus stops. Even a “small” discrepancy about the location of a bus stop can be lethal — a child who expects the bus to stop in front of his house may panic and run wildly across the street to get to the official corner stop the day a sub is doing the run. Children have died this way.

Regular route drivers who take their responsibilities seriously prepare their kids for a sub. One of the best ways to do this is to designate two student helpers who can direct the sub on the route. Smart subs quickly learn to master the art of finding and prepping a couple of reliable students for this purpose, but if their names are listed on the route sheet the process is easier.

Even if they’re forced to use newer drivers for the role, professionally-run operations do everything possible to prepare their subs. Letting subs ride the routes they’ll eventually wind up driving is key. Riding with the regular driver and checking the route sheet for discrepancies in the process can teach the sub the important nuances and intricacies of the route ahead of time. The younger the children on the route, the more important this preparation is. At their best, kindergartners are so unpredictable that adding unfamiliarity with the route into the equation is very risky.

Good subs know the importance of doing an extremely thorough pre-trip inspection — not just to find a mechanical problem, but to familiarize themselves with the location of critical switches and controls.

The most important element of being a great substitute driver, though, is avoiding over-confidence at all cost. God bless our precious subs!

Source: School Transportation News, August 2006. All rights reserved.