JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — School is already back in session for some students in Georgia, and next week every school in Florida heads back to the classroom. You should expect to see hundreds of school busses on the streets starting today as drivers begin to practice their routes for the school year. Durham School Services showed First Coast News a behind-the-scenes look at the safety measures they have for students who ride the bus.
"This is the most exciting time of the year, we're getting ready," said John Ziegler, Durham School Services director of business development.
For drivers, the job is more than simply going from stop to stop, they have to ensure that kids remain safe from when they step on the bus, to stepping off.
For a closer look at the safety measures that Durham School Services implements for its busses and drivers, First Coast News was shown that safety begins long before kids even wait for the bus.
"All busses have a safety inspection by the city, that's required every month and has happened before the school year and then ongoing throughout the school year," Ziegler said.
All of Durham's new busses are also certified 'Clean Idle,' which they said is better for the environment. Standard safety measures like the flashing stop sign when students get on and off the bus as well as seat belts are included with every bus. Aside from security cameras in the bus, Durham also has multi-directional cameras behind every windshield.
"If there is a sudden breaking event it'll catch that video and it'll help us coach drivers and improve performance," Ziegler said.
Eric Griffith has been a bus driver for 23 years and said he begins safety preparations for kids on his route well before the school year begins.
"We're constantly assessing the bus stops where they get on and off to make sure they're in safe locations to make sure they're in locations where their access to getting on the bus is pretty easy," Griffith said.
The wheels on the bus go more than round and round; there are dials on all of the lug nuts that point in the same direction when the lug nuts are tight. Any deviation lets drivers know that they need to bring their bus to maintenance to get them tightened. Drivers and bus monitors are also trained in CPR, but Ziegler says the next step in safety begins with you.
"For the community, things are going to change next Monday," said Ziegler, "there's going to be about 800 of these busses on the road that haven't been on the road for a couple months."
For more information in bus transportation in Duval County, click here.