Loading and Unloading
What this domain tests
Loading and Unloading covers the full stop sequence: warning lights, stopping distance, securing the bus, releasing students, signaling crossers, and counting. Questions target distances, light and stop-arm use, and the order of steps at every stop.
Core rules
- Turn on the amber warning lights before the stop and the red lights with the stop arm when the bus is stopped for students.
- Stop so students must walk at least 10 feet to reach the bus; never pull up close to a waiting student.
- Set the parking brake and place the transmission in neutral (park if equipped) before opening the door.
- Students who must cross the road cross in front of the bus, at least 10 feet ahead of the bumper, and only after your hand signal.
- Keep the red lights and stop arm on until every crossing student has reached the far shoulder.
- Count students off and count them on; the two counts must match before you move.
- Never back the bus to pick up students. Waiting students line up off the roadway.
Worked example
Three students get off at a rural stop and one must cross. The driver stops 10 feet short, sets the brake, counts three, checks the left mirror and oncoming traffic, then signals the crosser. The red lights stay on until the student is on the far shoulder, and the driver recounts: three.
Traps that cost marks
- Signaling a student to cross before checking the left mirror and traffic.
- Canceling the red lights while a student is still in the roadway.
- Losing the count because one student went back for a lunchbox.
- Releasing students before the bus is fully stopped and the brake is set.