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Emergency exit and evacuation

School Bus (S)4 minManual section 10.3

A crash, a bus stalled on train tracks, an engine fire, a sick child: emergencies can happen anywhere. The test checks two big ideas: when you must get students off the bus, and how to do it in an orderly way.

Deciding whether to evacuate

The first and most important step is to recognize the hazard. If time allows, contact your dispatcher and explain the situation before deciding to evacuate.

General rule: students are usually safest and easiest to control when they stay on the bus, as long as staying does not expose them to unnecessary risk. But the decision to evacuate must be timely: do not wait too long.

Questions to ask:

  • Is there a fire or danger of fire? Can you smell raw fuel or a fuel leak?
  • Could other vehicles hit the bus? Is a tornado in sight heading for the bus, or is water rising? Are there downed power lines?
  • Would taking students off expose them to speeding traffic, severe weather or a dangerous place such as downed power lines?
  • Would moving students make injuries worse, such as neck and back injuries and fractures?
  • Is there a hazardous materials spill? Sometimes it is safer to stay on the bus and avoid contact with the material.

When evacuation is mandatory

You must evacuate the bus when:

  • The bus is on fire or there is a threat of fire.
  • The bus is stalled on or next to a railroad-highway crossing.
  • The position of the bus may change and increase the danger (for example, it could slide or roll).
  • There is an imminent danger of collision.
  • You need to get out quickly because of a hazardous materials spill.

Plan ahead and choose a safe place

When possible, assign two responsible, older students to each emergency exit and teach them to help others off. Assign another student to lead the group to a safe place. But older students may not be on board when the emergency happens, so explain evacuation to all students, including how to open each emergency exit and the importance of listening to your instructions.

Picking a safe place:

  • 100 feet or more away from the road, toward the oncoming traffic. This keeps students away from flying debris if another vehicle hits the bus.
  • Upwind of the bus if there is fire.
  • As far from railroad tracks as possible, in the direction of any oncoming train (so wreckage is pushed away from them).
  • For a hazardous materials spill, go upwind, 300 feet or more.

Tornado: if evacuation is ordered and no building is close, take students to a nearby ditch or culvert, have them lie face down with hands covering their heads, far enough away that the bus cannot topple on them. Avoid areas that can flash flood.

Evacuation steps

  • Decide whether evacuating is in the best interest of safety, and choose the best type: front, rear or side door (or a mix of doors), or roof or window evacuation.
  • Secure the bus: transmission in Park (or Neutral if there is no Park), set the parking brakes, shut off the engine, remove the ignition key, turn on the hazard-warning lights.
  • If time allows, tell dispatch the evacuation location, the conditions and the help you need. Hang the radio microphone or phone out the driver's window to use later, if it works.
  • If there is no working radio, send a passing motorist or nearby resident to call for help. As a last resort, send two older, responsible students to get help.
  • Order the evacuation and get the students off the bus.
  • Do not move a student who may have a neck or spinal injury unless their life is in immediate danger. Special methods are needed to move them without more injury.
  • Have a student assistant lead the students to the nearest safe place. Walk through the bus to make sure no students remain, and take the emergency equipment.
  • Join the students, count them and check that they are safe.
  • Protect the scene: set out emergency warning devices as needed. Prepare information for emergency responders.
Check your state

School bus rules are set mostly by state and local law, so the exact steps can differ where you live. This lesson teaches the national manual procedure. Check your state manual and your school district rules too.

References and scope

The topic reference is listed below. Sources support verification; the lesson itself is here. The current content needs technical and language review before public launch.

Manual reference: 10.3

Official CDL handbook · Utah ↗StatesOur editorial approach

Put it into practice

Educational questions with explanations. The answer review also works without the interactive quiz.

Preparing your questions…

Review questions with answers

  1. In an emergency, what is the first and most important thing for the driver to do?
    1. Call the parents
    2. Recognize the hazard
    3. Open all emergency exits
    4. Move the bus
    Show answer
    Recognize the hazard

    The first and most important consideration is to recognize the hazard.

  2. If time permits, before deciding to evacuate, the driver should:
    1. Wait for police to arrive
    2. Ask the students to vote
    3. Drive to the school
    4. Contact the dispatcher and explain the situation
    Show answer
    Contact the dispatcher and explain the situation

    If time allows, contact your dispatcher to explain the situation before deciding to evacuate.

  3. As a general rule, during an emergency students are safest:
    1. On the bus, if staying does not expose them to unnecessary risk
    2. Outside the bus in all cases
    3. Walking home
    4. Standing next to the bus
    Show answer
    On the bus, if staying does not expose them to unnecessary risk

    Student safety and control are usually best kept by staying on the bus, unless that exposes them to unnecessary risk.

  4. There is a hazardous materials spill near the bus. What may be safest?
    1. Always evacuate immediately
    2. Drive through the spill
    3. Sometimes staying on the bus and avoiding contact with the material
    4. Opening all windows
    Show answer
    Sometimes staying on the bus and avoiding contact with the material

    With a hazmat spill, it may sometimes be safer to remain on the bus and not contact the material.

  5. Which is one of the conditions where the driver MUST evacuate the bus?
    1. A student feels sick
    2. The bus is stalled on or next to a railroad-highway crossing
    3. It is raining heavily
    4. The heater stops working
    Show answer
    The bus is stalled on or next to a railroad-highway crossing

    Mandatory evacuation includes a bus stalled on or adjacent to a railroad-highway crossing.

  6. You must evacuate the bus when:
    1. Traffic is heavy
    2. A tire is low
    3. The radio is broken
    4. There is a fire or threat of fire
    Show answer
    There is a fire or threat of fire

    The bus must be evacuated when it is on fire or there is a threat of fire.

  7. Which of these is also a mandatory evacuation condition?
    1. The position of the bus may change and increase the danger
    2. A student lost a backpack
    3. The bus is late
    4. A window is fogged
    Show answer
    The position of the bus may change and increase the danger

    Evacuate when the bus's position may change and increase danger, and when collision is imminent.

  8. How many student assistants should be assigned to each emergency exit, when possible?
    1. One
    2. Three
    3. Two
    4. Four
    Show answer
    Two

    When possible, assign two responsible, older students to each emergency exit.

  9. Why must evacuation procedures be explained to ALL students?
    1. It is required only for high school
    2. Older, responsible students may not be on the bus during an emergency
    3. It replaces drills
    4. So they can drive the bus
    Show answer
    Older, responsible students may not be on the bus during an emergency

    There may be no older student assistants on board when an emergency happens, so all students must know the procedure.

  10. After an evacuation, the safe place should be 100 feet or more from the road and:
    1. In the direction of traffic flow behind the bus
    2. Under a bridge
    3. Next to the bus door
    4. In the direction of oncoming traffic
    Show answer
    In the direction of oncoming traffic

    Go 100 feet or more from the road, toward oncoming traffic, so debris from a crash into the bus will not reach students.

  11. If there is a risk from spilled hazardous materials, lead students:
    1. Upwind at least 300 feet
    2. Downwind at least 100 feet
    3. Into the nearest ditch
    4. Back onto the bus
    Show answer
    Upwind at least 300 feet

    With a hazmat risk, lead students upwind of the bus at least 300 feet.

  12. If fire is present, lead students:
    1. Downwind of the bus
    2. Behind the bus
    3. Upwind of the bus
    4. Under the bus
    Show answer
    Upwind of the bus

    With a fire, move students upwind so smoke and flames blow away from them.

  13. When evacuating near railroad tracks, lead students as far from the tracks as possible and:
    1. Away from the direction of the train
    2. In the direction of any oncoming train
    3. Across the tracks
    4. Along the tracks
    Show answer
    In the direction of any oncoming train

    Lead students far from the tracks in the direction of any oncoming train.

  14. The bus is in the path of a tornado, evacuation is ordered, and no building is nearby. Students should:
    1. Stay under the bus
    2. Run down the road
    3. Hold hands next to the bus
    4. Lie face down in a nearby ditch or culvert, hands over their heads, away from the bus
    Show answer
    Lie face down in a nearby ditch or culvert, hands over their heads, away from the bus

    Take students to a ditch or culvert, face down with hands covering the head, far enough that the bus cannot topple on them; avoid flash-flood areas.

  15. To secure the bus before an evacuation, you should do all of these EXCEPT:
    1. Leave the engine running for heat
    2. Set the parking brakes
    3. Remove the ignition key
    4. Turn on the hazard-warning lights
    Show answer
    Leave the engine running for heat

    Secure the bus: Park (or Neutral), set parking brakes, shut off the engine, remove the key, activate hazard lights.

  16. Your radio does not work during an emergency. Who should you send for help as a LAST resort?
    1. A passing motorist
    2. A nearby resident
    3. Two older, responsible students
    4. The youngest student
    Show answer
    Two older, responsible students

    Send a passing motorist or resident first; as a last resort, send two older, responsible students.

  17. A student may have a neck or spinal injury. You should:
    1. Move the student off the bus first
    2. Not move the student unless their life is in immediate danger
    3. Have two students carry them
    4. Sit the student up
    Show answer
    Not move the student unless their life is in immediate danger

    Do not move a possible neck or spinal injury victim unless life is in immediate danger; special procedures are needed.

  18. After the students are off the bus and led to safety, the driver should:
    1. Drive the bus away
    2. Go home
    3. Lock the bus and wait inside
    4. Walk through the bus to be sure no one remains, then join and account for the students
    Show answer
    Walk through the bus to be sure no one remains, then join and account for the students

    Walk through to ensure no students remain, retrieve emergency equipment, join the students and account for them.

  19. If the radio works but you must leave the bus, what should you do with the microphone?
    1. Dangle it out of the driver's window for later use
    2. Take it apart
    3. Leave it under the seat
    4. Throw it away from the bus
    Show answer
    Dangle it out of the driver's window for later use

    Dangle the radio microphone or phone out of the driver's window for later use, if it works.

  20. When choosing a safe place for students after an evacuation, which area should you avoid?
    1. An area upwind of a fire
    2. An area subject to flash floods
    3. An area toward oncoming traffic, well off the road
    4. A ditch far enough away that the bus cannot fall on it
    Show answer
    An area subject to flash floods

    Avoid places that can flash flood. The other choices describe safe-place rules from the manual.

  21. Downed power lines are lying next to your stopped school bus. When deciding whether to evacuate, you should consider that:
    1. Power lines are only dangerous when wet
    2. You must always evacuate right away
    3. Rubber tires make the outside of the bus safe
    4. Taking students off could expose them to a dangerous environment
    Show answer
    Taking students off could expose them to a dangerous environment

    The manual lists downed power lines as a hazard to weigh: removing students may put them in more danger than staying on the bus.