Loading and Unloading Students
Loading and Unloading Students
This domain tests the highest-risk part of the route: moving students between the bus and the curb. Michigan expects the driver to control traffic with the bus's red lights and stop arm, and to keep students out of the danger zone.
Core rules
- Activate flashing red lights and extend the stop arm when loading or unloading students on a roadway, unless directed otherwise by a police officer.
- Stop as close to the right curb as practical; students should not cross behind the bus.
- Count students before unloading, after unloading, and before moving.
- Signal students to cross only after traffic has stopped; students cross in front of the bus, far enough ahead to be seen in the mirror.
- Keep the stop arm out and lights flashing until students are clear.
- The danger zone is the area immediately around the bus, commonly 10 feet; do not move until it is clear.
Worked example
A student drops a notebook in the danger zone. The driver should not wave the student back or move the bus. The safe response: keep the bus stopped, tell the student to leave the item, and have the student board or continue to the curb. The driver retrieves the item only after students are clear.
Traps
- Letting students cross behind the bus.
- Moving before the count is complete.
- Assuming drivers will stop just because your amber lights are on; red lights and stop arm are the legal signal.
- Allowing a student to retrieve an item near the tires.