Loading and Unloading Students Safely
This domain tests the exact sequence for picking up and dropping off students, from warning-light timing through the final student count. Kentucky expects a school bus driver to control the danger zone around the bus, not merely stop it.
Core rules
- Begin amber warning lights far enough ahead to warn traffic; stop in the traffic lane unless a designated off-road loading area is provided.
- Set the parking brake, place the transmission in neutral, and keep the service door closed until students are under control.
- Activate red warning lights and the stop arm when the door opens for loading or unloading. Keep them on until every student is safely across or seated.
- Students who must cross the road cross at least 10 feet in front of the bus, after the driver signals. The driver counts them off and counts them back.
- Never move the bus until students are seated or clear of the danger zone and the driver has checked mirrors and counted.
- A dropped item stays dropped. The student tells the driver; the driver retrieves it only after all students are safe.
Worked example
A student exits, then turns back to pick up a book that fell under the rear bumper. The driver keeps the red lights on, signals the student to stop, and says, Leave it and cross in front now. Reasoning: the rear and side areas beside the bus are blind spots, and a student who bends down near the wheels can disappear from the mirrors. The book is replaceable; the student is not.
Traps
Common misses include stopping beyond the designated point, cutting red lights off as soon as the last student steps off, allowing crossing behind the bus, failing to count, not setting the brake, and assuming the stop arm physically stops traffic.