Leading school bus and van contractor Beacon Mobility
to a higher standard is Chief Safety Officer Kevin Kilner, who is a firm believer in coaching the company’s drivers. “We use Drive Cam by Lytx, which features dual-facing drive cameras,” explained Kilner. “The two cameras are valuable, but the third component of the system is the ability to continually monitor, and continually rate the drivers with a consistent scoring system. For managers, the benefit of that is that you have a tool which can show you if things are improving or getting worse. That data makes determining an intervention point very easy.” Kilner pointed out that from a driver’s perspective,
the value comes from watching the video and seeing the data. “The driver can’t unsee what you are showing them,” said Kilner. “For example, you know a driver didn’t stop completely at a stop sign. You can bring them in, show them the evidence, and then support them before an incident occurs. You don’t need to discipline them. You coach them. You assist them in seeing that whatever that risk was, it has reached an unacceptable level.” Understanding human behavior is key to coaching.
Kilner referred to the Kubler-Ross Change Curve, which states that humans go through stages when confronted with change—starting with shock, denial and frustration before falling to the low of depression, only to rise to experimentation, decision-making, and finally peaking with integration. Good coaching understands these stages of personal transition and provides guidance and support to employees to set them up for success. “We all go through changes, we’re all imperfect. A coaching session is not an opportunity to discipline,” ex- plained Kilner. “It is for you to help the employee accept the current condition and want to improve.” Kilner said he believes that too many people are using transportation technology as a tool to discipline staff. “School bus drivers are incredible people who really
want to take care of their kids, so letting them see that this is what they are doing and how they can improve is a fantastic tool,” he added. “Most of them will change their behavior. They’ll say something like, ’Oh my God, how did I do that?’ This is when a good coach can step in and say, ‘It’s okay, no one got hurt.’ We can reassure that driver and coaching can change their behavior. School bus drivers have an amazing sense of commu- nity, but no one’s perfect, and everyone can slip into complacency.”
Trainer Bob Morency, left, coaches school bus driver Toni Wolf of Beacon Mobility company NRT Chelmsford by using video footage from her route.
Technology & Positive Change Rosco Vision Systems has long been known in the transportation industry for providing conventional side and rearview mirrors. But the company has stepped up to the plate with innovative safety technology. “The company works with fleets in advance of rolling
out their technology to position the process as a positive change,” said Peter Plate, vice-president of sales and marketing for Rosco. “We like to refer to this technology as being like a guardian angel. It’s there to protect the driver’s livelihood, their career, their family, should there be a false allegation of an incident with a student, aide, parent, or another vehicle.” He explained that fleets are not putting Rosco’s technology in place as a way to suggest that the driver did something wrong. “Our approach is that technol- ogy provides for the driver’s well-being in addition to protecting the company they work for,” Plate explained.
64% of transportation directors/supervisors stated that they use video review for driver coaching.
(Out of 127 responses to a recent STN magazine reader survey.)
52 School Transportation News • FEBRUARY 2024
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