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School bus drivers have so much responsibility on their shoulders. They have to safely drive dozens of children every
day, keeping track of riders and pickup/dropoff points, while navigating busy roads. That, by itself, would be more than enough work for most people.
However, on top of that, they also have to police student behavior, and can easily be distracted by passenger activity. Disruptive students aren't just an annoyance; they can genuinely be a safety threat if they distract the driver at a critical moment.
How can you reduce student misbehavior on buses? BusBoss has some suggestions.
Making Discipline Easier For School Bus Drivers
1 - Add a monitor
We realize this isn't always feasible, but the single best way of preventing disruptive students from distracting school bus drivers is to have another adult onboard to handle discipline. If you can't afford to send your own staff, perhaps ask for volunteers among the students' family members.
2 - "Deputize" responsible students
If you have older students on your buses who you know to be responsible, they could be given authority to police the younger kids. It's not as effective as adult oversight, but can still be better than nothing.
3 - Seat belts
There's ongoing debate over how much good bus seat belts do, in terms of protecting students during a crash. However, they have proven to have a major side benefit: reducing disruptions. If the students are expected to stay strapped-down, they're less likely to stand up, move around the bus, or cause problems.
4 - Implement Wi-Fi
If it's in the budget to add Wi-Fi to your buses, this is a great way to keep students distracted. Even if they just spend the ride watching TikTok videos, at least they're staying quiet. Wi-Fi can also be a major boon for low-income students who may not have reliable connections at home, allowing them to do research or homework during their daily ride.
5 - Rewards
Don't overlook good old fashioned bribery. Even extremely basic rewards like snacks, given out to the best-behaved students on each bus, can help encourage better behavior. This can be especially helpful with younger kids, who tend to be food-motivated.
BusBoss can help you modernize your busses within your budget, in ways that improve student safety while paying off over time. Contact us to learn how we can help.
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PRESIDENT
Sonia has been involved with BusBoss since the late 1990’s, and has personally overseen many projects for various customers ranging from large urban and suburban districts to smaller rural school districts from all over the country.
(484) 941-0820