National School Bus Safety Week
--Giovonni Dodd, GCS Bus Driver
National School Bus Safety Week
October 22-26, 2012
Did you know - school bus transportation is one of the safest ways to travel? In Greenville County, 358 school buses transport 25,000 children every day. That’s more than a trip around the world – every day!
Greenville County Schools is celebrating the outstanding performance of our 358 school bus drivers, October 22-26, during National School Bus Safety Week. Bus drivers are the first staff members many students see in the morning, and the atmosphere on the school bus can set the tone for the rest of a student’s day.
Giovonni Dodd has been driving regular and special needs buses for 12 years, and has loved every minute of it. She is currently a “floater,” meaning she might drive a bus one day and serve as a bus aide the next. She doesn’t always drive the same route, but she loves all the children she encounters each day. After her morning route, she returns to the special needs bus center on Waddell Road to dispatch buses for the remainder of the day.
“I love driving special needs. I feel I’m really doing a service by helping them on and off the bus, whether I’m a driver or an aide. It takes teamwork between the driver and the aide to get the wheelchairs and car seats fully locked down,” she explained. “The families are very attentive to what we’re doing, and they seem very appreciative of the work we do with their children.”
Giovonni wants to remind drivers about the importance of stopping when the bus’s STOP arm is extended. “When the bus has the stop sign out, there are children either loading or unloading. With special needs buses, there might be an autistic child who could take off and run,” she said. “Drivers who pass a stopped school bus run the risk of hitting the bus, causing injury to the children, the driver and the aide. “Drivers need to heed the stop arm. It may take special needs buses a little longer, but it’s for the safety of the children on that bus.”