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everyone’s job to teach and reiterate these things, he answered – parents, teachers, drivers and aides. But a school bus driver presenting “10 Safety Rules”


at the start of the school year isn’t nearly enough, he cautioned. “How many kids will listen and put that into practice?” he noted. The SBSC Student Safety Programs include classroom videos, games and interactivity to en- sure students are properly trained on appropriate school bus behavior.


Highly Recommended Kevin Kilner, chief safety officer for regional contractor


Beacon Mobility, has been using SBSC programs since 2014. He agreed that the techniques taught are sound. “The defensive driving model is simple, comprehensive, and measurable,” he said. The SBSC training courses are lauded by industry vet- erans like Fred Doelker, director of training programs for Michigan school transportation contractor Dean Trans- portation. With about four decades of safety training under his belt, he called the SBSC Driver Training course “the best and most relevant” school bus driver training package he has reviewed. Veronica Burns, team lead and driver trainer at Cran-


dall Independent School District in Texas, noted that other training videos are outdated and feature old buses or the same actors and actresses repeatedly. She praised SBSC materials as being vibrant, colorful, up-to-date and modern. She added that she appreciates how their focus is not on trucks, but on the same types of school buses being used in operations around the country. Mori at Huntington Coach shared that he had been


impressed with the positive results achieved by two different instructors in different locations working with different demographic groups. The SBSC training “does a good job and is on point,” he confirmed. He is also speaking as a master instructor for the New


York state education department for anything to do with school buses. “Once [applicants] have a permit, I can get them to the


road test, but getting them to pass the written test has gotten harder and harder,” Mori said. He explained that he’s seeing an influx of older ap-


plicants and college educated people who nonetheless must understand how the test is written. This, he said, is why the detailed SBSC training which explains the “why” behind the “what” is so useful. “It’s getting people through the hump so much quicker,” he commented. Dean Transportation, meanwhile, requires the course


for both new CDL trainees and drivers who have cre- dentials. “Our employees find much greater relevance in training materials that reflect exactly what these folks have and use (and even look like) every day. The SBSC materials are the best I have found that strive for that level of relevance,” he stated. Kilner concurred, adding that his drivers respond posi- tively to SBSC materials. “I have taken 20- and 30-year


veteran drivers through this program and have received specific feedback on how it changed their thinking and behaviors,” he said.


Furthermore, he added, integrating operation-specific


information takes everything to the next level. “Jeff’s pro- gram lends itself to a location or school district inserting their facilitation techniques and their district-specific content on their specific student population to make the trainee experience a 10 out of 10,” he said. Doelker said Dean uses a similar technique. “The SBSC


program is set up very nicely in segments, which allows our regional trainers to follow up each segment by teaching our own standard operating procedures relative to those specific segment topics,” he shared. When it comes to the newly implemented Entry Level


Driver Training (ELDT) requirements from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), SBSC says student transportation customers are covered. “We reviewed the entry level driver theory training


federal requirements in detail, and even considered creating our own entirely. The SBSC program was suc- cessfully, we feel, updated to meet the requirements very well,” Doelker confirmed. Burns said that her drivers have done well with the courses and that the district will be using SBSC’s profes- sional development courses soon. “I’d give it a 10 out of 10,” she shared. The materials are ones Doelker regularly recommends


to area districts. “I’ve let many school districts in Mich- igan know the SBSC Driver Training Course is a great choice if you are going to be providing all of your own CDL Entry Level Driver Training,” he said. “We’ve also had great response from SBSC when we


have asked for product support or have pointed out any items needing to be updated,” he said, adding that this un- precedented level of support after the sale is one he hasn’t experienced elsewhere for school bus training materials. “I would recommend the SBSC training materials to a


district for the content of the program, facilitation sup- port and most importantly the support of the SBSC staff,” Kilner agreed. ●


To learn more, visit schoolbussafetyco.com, or call 866-275-7272.


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