DRIVING THE INDUSTRY SINCE 1991
“Te better we understand it, the better we can be at
solving it. If you are talking to this person, you are not fighting with them. So, talking is good. Questions are good,” he said. One technique that is especially effective, Brooks
Both Bret E. Brooks of Gray Ram
Tactical and Susan Keith of the Crisis Prevention
Safety Institute have shared tips with
STN EXPO attendees.
added, involves using sentence structures that emphasize what is most important to the upset person. When he is pulling over a driver who has an outstanding warrant, for instance, Brooks de-escalates the situation by saying what’s most important to that other person first: “You’re not under arrest, and you’re not going to jail, but you do have a warrant.’” When applied to how school bus drivers deal with students, Brooks said this means turning a negative into a positive, such as “I’ll be able to get you home sooner if you sit down” as opposed to “Sit down and you will get home sooner.” Keith recommended maintaining a proper physical
distance, too. “Giving them space gives them more safety and
respect,” she added. She said de-escalation is about promoting a “culture
of care.” To that end, she and Brooks agreed that drivers and monitors should always keep de-escalation tech- niques on the top of their minds. “Our program is designed to provide a very solid foun-
dation, but it’s up to them to build the house,” said Brooks. “We encourage people to use it in their everyday life. Unless you practice, you’re never going to get good at it.” Keith suggested that drivers should have a clear plan of
action in mind if trouble arises anywhere along their route. “Don’t just think ‘this is what I’ll do’. Have a conversa-
tion with your supervisor about that plan,” she added. She contended that more communication between driv- ers and teachers — not less — can also prevent trouble. “If you’re in tune with the kids you transport, you
can see a child is not having a good day. Let the teacher know it. Teachers can do the same thing (for drivers). It doesn’t have to be a 20-minute debrief but it can help to de-escalate things if you get a heads-up a little earlier.” She recommended that administrators devote more
de-escalation training dollars to bus drivers and monitors. “Tose training dollars sometimes go more to class-
room staff with the highway safety dollars going to the transportation staff,” she explained. She also encouraged transportation directors to devote time during staff meetings to discuss behaviors, how drivers reacted and what they could do to best handle conflicts and potential problems. “When you do that, you’re telling your drivers you
are very committed to their safety and they are better prepared,” she said.
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