Everyone claims that school bus transportation is one of the safest means of transportation for students. Hence, school bus accidents are the last thing to happen on roads. Sometimes, improper driver behavior may be the root cause of road related accidents. It is an offence to ignore essential traffic rules and regulations, especially while driving a vehicle like school bus.
Some common driver behaviours that may cause school bus road accidents are as follows:
Over Speeding
The major reason for most of the road related accidents is over speeding. It is human psychology to excel in everything; hence, there are certain drivers who never want any other vehicle to overtake them. But, they never think that student road safety is in their hands.
When the vehicle speed increases, naturally, the risk for accidents also increases. As a school bus driver, it is your responsibility to take care of students in the school bus and move in the permitted speed. When you increase speed, your judgement power decreases, thereby, causing accidents or crashes.
Drunken Driving
Even though drunken driving is prohibited, you will be able to witness several school bus drivers consuming alcohol while on duty. It is a big mistake to mix alcohol with driving. This is because alcohol reduces your concentration and thereby, decreases reaction time of a normal human body. Sometimes, your vision becomes blurred, which ultimately leads to crashes.
As per the reports, for every increase of 0.05% blood alcohol concentration, the risk of accident increases. Hence, when a situation arises where you get boozed up, it is wise to approach someone else to drive your vehicle.
Distraction to driver
While driving a vehicle, distraction can be a dreadful enemy for you. Distractions can be from inside or outside the school bus. Students are normally noisy and this will be a great distraction for you. Similarly, the usage of mobile phones can also create a fair lot of distraction.
When you attend a phone call, a major portion of your brain's concentration level focuses on that call and only the remaining portion focuses on driving the vehicle. This is a dangerous situation as it not only averts the reaction time, but it also reduces the ability to judge the hazard. All you can do if you need to attend the call is to park the vehicle on the side of the road and then, attend the call. This can ensure your safety as well as student safety.
Other distractions on the road include :
- Adjusting mirrors at the time of driving the school bus
- Playing stereo or radio loudly on the school bus
- Animals crossing the road
- Banner ads and bill boards
You will stay safe, if you move your vehicle slowly and avoid the distraction listed above.
Red Light Jumping
It is a common sight that vehicles cross at the intersection without caring the traffic lights. As a school bus driver, you have to save time; but, it doesn't mean that you should ignore the traffic rules unnecessarily. There is a wrong prejudice that stopping for red signal is wastage of money, time, and fuel. But, the truth is that, when you follow traffic signals properly, you will reach the destination safely and on time.
When you ever try to jump on red lights, you are not only risking your own safety but also the safety of fellow beings on the road. It is found that whenever you attempt red light jumping, you may lose the ability to see the ongoing traffic,thereby, leading to serious accidents.
Avoiding Safety Gears
Use of safety gears is a must for ensuring school bus safety. You may avoid it as you think it as irritating. It is found that usage of safety gears can help you to survive accidents. Hence, it is better to take appropriate safety measures before starting school bus transportation.
When the above behaviors are carefully handled, rate of school bus related accidents can be reduced to a greater extend. As a responsible school bus driver, it is your prime duty to save the students, who are the future of the country.