Joining the Bus Road-e-o

I drove a school bus for the first time yesterday, and my respect for the excellent job our bus drivers do is at an all-time high.

My turn at the wheel came during a bus rodeo sponsored by our Transportation Department. I was driving on a closed course — far away from obstacles, people and other vehicles. The course included cones to navigate through, corners to turn, tight spaces to park in, a cutout representing a child at a bus stop and other situations that bus drivers handle every day.

Only a few cones were flattened during my trip around the half-mile course, so I feel pretty good about my performance. Of course, my performance was aided by the experienced bus driver sitting right behind me, letting know how hard to cut the wheel and when to turn. Without the special assistance I received from Barbara Musick, I probably would have flattened all of the traffic cones!

Each year, our top scorers in the bus rodeo go on to compete regionally and statewide against bus drivers from other school systems. The top-scoring bus drivers for Chesterfield County Public Schools this year are Leslie Alderman, Marion Trent, Amy Ellington, Pamela Krueth, Jennifer Langford, Rose Moody, Annette Norwood, Linda Thacker, Bill Johnson and Barbara Jordan. Regional competition is next week, then state competition will take place June 22 at James River High School.

I congratulate our top drivers and all of our Chesterfield school bus drivers who navigate 8.5 million miles each school year safely transporting about 44,000 students to school.