And the wheels on the bus go round
Safety instructor Larry Thornton provides guidance to a Canton bus driver Martin Robinson using the vehicle simulator.
“A bus can be replaced; a child’s life cannot be,” was the motto of Larry Thornton’s safety training course given to Canton Independent School District bus drivers Feb. 3.
Thornton said he had been a part of the school bus training initiative for the Region 6 Education Service for a number of years and offered a virtual and hands on course to improve the reaction time of school bus drivers.
Canton ISD Transportation Director Dawn Lofton said she was excited to see the program come to Canton.
“We have waited a number of years for this program to finally come to us. We are so excited about what this might mean to our parents whose children ride the school bus every day,” said Lofton.
The program is funded through a Texas Department of Transportation grant.
The course, which was set up in a mobile trailer, offers a 180 degree view of roadways and distractions- just like a real school bus would.
“Don’t think, react!” Thornton yelled into the ear of Canton ISD bus driver Martin Robinson as Robinson narrowly dodges a child on a bicycle that cut in front of the bus’s path.
The drivers are put through a rigorous course that teaches the drivers react instead of immediately breaking and to steer through problem areas.
Thornton sat behind the bus drivers and would yell out problem areas and offer encouragement when the drivers were learning how to reroute their driving skills.
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