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Student management, ABS and special safety situations

School Bus (S)6 minManual section 10.5–10.7

This lesson covers how to handle behavior problems without losing focus, how antilock brakes help (and what they cannot do), and four special situations: strobe lights, high winds, backing and tail swing.

Do not handle bus problems while loading or unloading

Getting students to school and home safely and on schedule means you must focus on driving. Loading and unloading need all your attention. Do not take your eyes off what is happening outside the bus.

If students misbehave during a stop, first let the unloading students get off and move safely away. If needed, pull the bus over to deal with the problem.

Handling serious problems

  • Follow your school's procedures for discipline or for taking away the right to ride.
  • Stop the bus and park in a safe place off the road, such as a parking lot or driveway. Secure the bus and take the ignition key if you leave your seat.
  • Stand up and speak respectfully to the offender in a courteous but firm voice. Remind them of the expected behavior. Do not show anger, but show that you mean business.
  • If a seat change is needed, ask the student to move to a seat near you.
  • A student may be let off only at school or at that student's own stop, never anywhere else. If behavior is so bad you cannot drive safely, ask a school administrator or the police to come take the student off. Use your state or local procedure to request help.

Antilock braking systems (ABS)

The Department of Transportation requires ABS on:

  • Air-braked vehicles (trucks, buses, trailers and converter dollies) built on or after March 1, 1998.
  • Hydraulically braked trucks and buses with a GVWR of 10,000 lb or more built on or after March 1, 1999.

Many older buses were equipped with ABS voluntarily. A bus with ABS has a yellow ABS malfunction lamp on the instrument panel.

How ABS helps: braking hard on a slippery road without ABS can lock the wheels. Locked steering wheels mean no steering control; other locked wheels can cause a skid or even a spin. ABS keeps wheels from locking so you keep control. You may or may not stop faster, but you should be able to steer around something in your path while braking, and avoid skids from braking too hard.

Braking with ABS: brake the same way you always have. Use only the braking force you need to stop safely and stay in control. As you slow, watch the bus and ease off the brakes (if safe) to stay in control. In an emergency stop, do not pump the brakes on a bus with ABS.

If ABS is not working: you still have normal brakes. Drive and brake as usual, but get the system serviced soon. On newer buses the yellow lamp comes on at start-up as a bulb check and then goes out quickly. On older systems it may stay on until you are going over 5 mph. If it stays on after the bulb check, or comes on while driving, you may have lost ABS at one or more wheels.

What ABS will not do: it will not let you drive faster, follow closer or drive less carefully; it will not prevent power or turning skids (from spinning the drive wheels or going too fast in a turn); it will not necessarily shorten stopping distance; it will not increase or decrease ultimate stopping power (it is an add-on to normal brakes, not a replacement); it will not change how you normally brake (it only acts when a wheel would lock); and it will not make up for bad brakes or poor maintenance.

Remember: the best safety feature is still a safe driver. Drive so you never need your ABS; if you do need it, it could help prevent a serious crash.

Strobe lights and high winds

Strobe light: some school buses have a roof-mounted white strobe light. Use it when you have limited visibility, meaning you cannot easily see around the bus (front, back or sides). Visibility may be only slightly limited or so bad you see nothing. Always follow your state or local rules for these lights.

High winds: the side of a school bus acts like a sail. Strong wind can push the bus sideways, even off the road, or in extreme cases tip it over. If caught in strong winds: keep a strong grip on the wheel and try to anticipate gusts; slow down to lessen the wind's effect, or pull off the road and wait; contact your dispatcher for more information.

Backing and tail swing

Backing a school bus is strongly discouraged. Back up only when there is no other safe way to move the bus. Never back up when students are outside the bus. If you must back:

  • Post a lookout to warn you of obstacles, people and vehicles. The lookout must not tell you how to steer or back.
  • Signal for quiet on the bus. Keep checking every mirror and the rear windows. Back slowly and smoothly.
  • If no lookout is available: set the parking brake, turn off the motor and take the keys, and walk to the rear to see if the way is clear.
  • At a pick-up point, pick up students before backing and watch for late arrivals. Make sure all students are in the bus before backing. At a drop-off point, unload students after backing.

Tail swing: a school bus can have up to 3 feet of tail swing: when you turn, the rear swings out the other way. Check your mirrors before and during every turn to watch it.

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: 10.5–10.7

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. A behavior problem starts on the bus while students are unloading. You should:
    1. Deal with it right away
    2. Wait until unloading students are safely off and away
    3. Close the door on the students
    4. Drive off to the next stop
    Show answer
    Wait until unloading students are safely off and away

    Loading and unloading need full attention; wait until unloading students are safely off and away, then pull over if needed.

  2. Where may you put a student off the bus for bad behavior?
    1. At any safe corner
    2. At a gas station
    3. At a police station
    4. Only at school or the student's designated bus stop
    Show answer
    Only at school or the student's designated bus stop

    Never put a student off except at school or at his or her designated stop; call an administrator or police if needed.

  3. When speaking to a student about a serious problem, you should:
    1. Stand up and speak respectfully in a courteous, firm voice
    2. Shout so all students hear
    3. Speak from the driver's seat while driving
    4. Show anger so they take it seriously
    Show answer
    Stand up and speak respectfully in a courteous, firm voice

    Stop and secure the bus, stand up, and speak respectfully with a firm voice; do not show anger.

  4. If a student must change seats because of behavior, ask the student to move:
    1. To the back of the bus
    2. Next to a friend
    3. To a seat near you
    4. To the stairwell
    Show answer
    To a seat near you

    If a change of seating is needed, have the student move to a seat near the driver.

  5. A student's behavior is so serious that you cannot drive safely. You should:
    1. Put the student off at the next corner
    2. Call a school administrator or the police to come remove the student
    3. Drive faster to reach school
    4. Ask another student to handle it
    Show answer
    Call a school administrator or the police to come remove the student

    Call a school administrator or police to remove the student; follow state or local procedures.

  6. ABS is required on air-braked vehicles built on or after:
    1. January 1, 1990
    2. March 1, 1999
    3. July 1, 2001
    4. March 1, 1998
    Show answer
    March 1, 1998

    Air-braked vehicles (including trucks, buses, trailers and dollies) made on or after March 1, 1998 must have ABS.

  7. ABS is required on hydraulically braked trucks and buses with a GVWR of 10,000 lb or more built on or after:
    1. March 1, 1999
    2. March 1, 1998
    3. January 1, 2005
    4. March 1, 1995
    Show answer
    March 1, 1999

    Hydraulic-brake trucks and buses of 10,000 lb GVWR or more need ABS if built on or after March 1, 1999.

  8. What is the main benefit of ABS?
    1. It always shortens stopping distance
    2. It lets you drive faster on ice
    3. It helps you avoid wheel lockup and keep steering control
    4. It replaces the service brakes
    Show answer
    It helps you avoid wheel lockup and keep steering control

    ABS helps prevent wheel lockup so you can steer around obstacles while braking; it may or may not stop you faster.

  9. In an emergency stop in a bus with ABS, you should:
    1. Pump the brakes rapidly
    2. Not pump the brakes
    3. Pull the parking brake
    4. Shift into neutral
    Show answer
    Not pump the brakes

    Brake normally; in an emergency stop with ABS, keep steady pressure and do not pump.

  10. The yellow ABS lamp stays on after the start-up bulb check. This means:
    1. The ABS is working normally
    2. The bus has no brakes at all
    3. You must stop driving immediately
    4. You may have lost ABS at one or more wheels, but you still have normal brakes
    Show answer
    You may have lost ABS at one or more wheels, but you still have normal brakes

    If the lamp stays on, ABS may be lost at one or more wheels; you still have regular brakes. Get it serviced soon.

  11. On older ABS systems, the malfunction lamp may stay on until you are driving over:
    1. 5 mph
    2. 15 mph
    3. 25 mph
    4. 55 mph
    Show answer
    5 mph

    On older systems the lamp could stay on until the vehicle is going over 5 mph.

  12. Which statement about ABS is true?
    1. ABS lets you follow more closely
    2. ABS prevents skids from spinning the drive wheels
    3. ABS is an add-on to normal brakes, not a replacement
    4. ABS makes up for poorly maintained brakes
    Show answer
    ABS is an add-on to normal brakes, not a replacement

    ABS does not increase or decrease ultimate stopping power; it adds to normal brakes and does not fix bad brakes.

  13. ABS will always shorten your stopping distance.
    1. True
    2. False
    Show answer
    False

    False. ABS helps keep control but does not always shorten stopping distance.

  14. When should the roof-mounted white strobe light on a school bus be used?
    1. At every stop
    2. Only at railroad crossings
    3. Only in school zones
    4. When visibility is limited and you cannot easily see around the bus
    Show answer
    When visibility is limited and you cannot easily see around the bus

    Use the overhead strobe light when visibility is limited, following state or local rules.

  15. You are caught in strong winds in a school bus. What should you do?
    1. Grip the wheel firmly, slow down or pull off and wait, and contact dispatch
    2. Speed up to get through faster
    3. Open the windows to let wind through
    4. Drive on the shoulder
    Show answer
    Grip the wheel firmly, slow down or pull off and wait, and contact dispatch

    Keep a strong grip, anticipate gusts, slow down or pull off and wait, and contact your dispatcher.

  16. When backing a school bus with a lookout, the lookout should:
    1. Tell you how to steer
    2. Stand directly behind the bus
    3. Warn you about obstacles, people and vehicles, but not direct how to back
    4. Sit in the back seat
    Show answer
    Warn you about obstacles, people and vehicles, but not direct how to back

    The lookout warns about obstacles, approaching persons and other vehicles, and should not give backing directions.

  17. You must back up at a student pick-up point. When should students board?
    1. After backing
    2. Before backing
    3. While backing
    4. It does not matter
    Show answer
    Before backing

    At a pick-up point, pick up students before backing and watch for late comers. At a drop-off point, unload after backing.

  18. You must back the bus and no lookout is available. What should you do first?
    1. Back slowly using only mirrors
    2. Ask a student to stand behind the bus
    3. Honk three times and back up
    4. Set the parking brake, turn off the motor, take the keys, and walk to the rear to check
    Show answer
    Set the parking brake, turn off the motor, take the keys, and walk to the rear to check

    Without a lookout: set the parking brake, turn off the motor and take the keys, then walk to the rear to see if the way is clear.

  19. A school bus can have a tail swing of up to:
    1. 1 foot
    2. 3 feet
    3. 6 feet
    4. 10 feet
    Show answer
    3 feet

    Tail swing on a school bus can reach 3 feet, so watch your mirrors before and during turns.

  20. You may back a school bus while students are outside the bus if a lookout is present.
    1. True
    2. False
    Show answer
    False

    False. A lookout does not make it safe; never back up while any student is outside the bus.

  21. ABS will NOT prevent which kind of skid?
    1. Skids from locked wheels during hard braking
    2. Brake-induced skids on wet roads
    3. Skids from over-braking
    4. Power or turning skids from spinning drive wheels or going too fast in a turn
    Show answer
    Power or turning skids from spinning drive wheels or going too fast in a turn

    ABS should prevent brake-induced skids but not skids from spinning drive wheels or excess speed in a turn.

  22. Why do strong winds affect a school bus so much?
    1. The bus has small tires
    2. The engine loses power in wind
    3. The side of the bus acts like a sail
    4. The mirrors catch the wind
    Show answer
    The side of the bus acts like a sail

    The large, flat side of a school bus catches wind like a sail, so gusts can push it sideways or even tip it over.