LOADING AND UNLOADING PROCEDURES

1 CCR 301-26

18.0  Route Planning – Student Loading and Discharge

18.1  School transportation small vehicles, Type A Multifunction Buses with 15 or fewer passenger capacity (counting the driver) and School Buses (Types A, B, C, and D) may be used to transport students to and from school. Multifunction Buses Type B, C, D, and Motor Coach Buses shall not be used to transport students to and from school.

18.2  The location of student stops shall consider factors including: 18.02(a) Ages of the students;

18.3  School transportation vehicle operators shall stop at least 10 feet away from students at each designated stop. The school transportation vehicle operator shall apply the parking brake and shift the vehicle into neutral or park prior to opening the service door of a bus or the passenger door(s) of a small vehicle.

18.4  The school transportation vehicle operator shall stop as far to the right of the roadway, highway or private road as possible before discharging or loading passengers - allowing sufficient area to the right and front of the vehicle but close enough to the right to prevent traffic from passing on the right - so that students may clear the vehicle safely while in sight of the operator.

18.5  Student stops shall not be located on the side of any major thoroughfare whenever access to the destination of the passenger is possible by a road or street which is adjacent to the major thoroughfare.

18.6  School districts, charter schools and service providers shall ensure that if students are required to cross a roadway, highway or private road on which a student stop is being performed, they are prohibited from crossing a roadway, highway or private road constructed or designed to permit three or more separate lanes of vehicular traffic in either direction or with a median separating multiple lanes of traffic.

18.7  Four-way hazard lamps shall be used on private property such as parking lots.

18.8  Alternating flashing red warning signal lamps shall not be activated within 200 feet of an intersection if the intersection is controlled by a traffic control signal.

18.9  Routes shall be planned as to:

18.10  In determining the length of routes, school districts, charter schools and service providers must make an effort to minimize student ride times while considering student educational needs, geographic boundaries, terrain, traffic congestion, and financial resources within the district. A local board of education, or the governing body of a charter school, may establish a maximum student ride time.

18.11  Pursuant to Section 42-4-1903(2), C.R.S., school transportation vehicle operators are not required to actuate the alternating flashing red warning signal lamps on a school bus (1) when the student stop is at a location where the local traffic regulatory authority has by prior written designation declared such actuation unnecessary and (2) when discharging or loading passengers who require the assistance of a lift device and no passenger is required to cross the roadway. Further, Type A Multifunction Buses with 15 or fewer passenger capacity (counting the driver) and school transportation small vehicles do not have the functionality to control traffic. In these instances, the school transportation vehicle operator shall stop as far to the right off the roadway as possible to reduce obstruction to traffic, activate the four-way hazard warning lamps a minimum of 200 feet prior to the student stop, continue to display the four-way hazard warning lamps until the process of discharging or loading passengers has been completed, and deactivate the four-way hazard lamps before resuming motion.  Students are prohibited from crossing any lanes of traffic to access the student stop or after disembarking.

18.12  School transportation vehicle operators shall not relocate a student stop without approval of the school district, charter school, or service provider.

18.13  Pursuant to 42-4-707 C.R.S., School transportation vehicle operators of School Buses, Multifunction Buses and Motor Coach Buses, whether transporting students or not, shall apply the following procedures during the process of approaching, stopping and crossing railroad tracks:

18.14  After quietness aboard the stopped bus has been achieved, bus operators shall open the service door and operator window. The bus operator shall listen and look in both directions along the track(s) for any approaching train(s) and for signals indicating the approach of a train.

18.15  School transportation vehicle operators of School Buses, Multifunction Buses and Motor Coach Buses are not required to stop at crossings controlled only by a red, amber, green traffic control signal when it is in the green position, or when the crossing is controlled by a police officer or human flag person, or when the crossing is marked with an official “exempt” sign placed on the railroad crossing light post or cross bucks post.

When loading and unloading

Ø  Never take your eyes off what is happening outside the bus.

Ø  Count children as they enter/exit.

Ø  Make sure you know the location of each student and make sure they are a safe distance from the bus before pulling away once you unload at the bus stop.

Ø  If you cannot locate a child, check your mirrors. DO NOTMOVE!!

Ø  If you still cannot find the child, secure the bus.

Ø  Check around and under your vehicle.

Ø  DO NOT Move until you have located the child

Loading Steps

There is a safe technique in making stops that protect all involved. These steps should be practiced in the same sequence, so they become habit.

1)      Check mirrors and traffic. Students will be loading soon, and we must scan the traffic scene to locate students and traffic hazards. A mistake here could be tragic!

2)      Apply brakes lightly and slow down. As you approach the bus stop, you must have your bus under control. Slowing down gradually will give you the control you need in case someone runs out in front of your bus.

3)      Do not pull closer than 10 feet to waiting pupils. Stop short of the line of waiting students for their safety. You must teach your students to stay back 10 feet from the bus and wait for your signal to board the bus. In winter weather your bus could also slide during the stopping procedure. Train your students well for their survival.

4)      Stop the bus as far to the right off the roadway or private road as practicable. It is important to consider a safe bus stop where pupils will wait for the school bus.

5)      Apply the parking brake, shift the bus to park or neutral. It is possible that your foot could slip off the brake and the bus could move. Place your bus in neutral or park and set the parking brake at every student stop.

6)      Check mirrors and traffic. Check to see what the traffic around your bus is doing before you open your door. Have students enter or leave the bus in an orderly manner. Be sure all students are accounted for. COUNT THEM AND TRACK THEM!! This is the most dangerous step in our loading and unloading procedure. You must account for every student.

 More than half of all school bus rider fatalities are pupils struck by the bus, which they were entering or leaving.

Drivers are responsible for the safety of all their pupils. Instruct pupils in safe use of the handrail. Count the students as they get off the bus and count them again as they move away from the bus.

7)  Procedure for students: Use handrails when boarding vehicle. Students should go directly to their seats as prescribed by the district/charter and service provider. Remain seated when the bus is moving. Do not permit students to go to the mailbox when the bus is conducting the bus stop. They must wait until the bus has departed the bus stop and preferably out of sight before they check for traffic and proceed to their mailbox. The concern is that students will attempt to get their mail assuming that traffic will remain stopped and do not take the proper precautions for safely crossing the road.

8)  Check to see that students are seated and close the door. Students may fall if you start up before they are seated. Do not rush the seating procedure. Remember that small children may take considerable time to enter the bus and climbing the steps is a major event. Help them if you can!

9)  Allow traffic to clear. If it is possible, you must allow stopped traffic to clear. Failure to allow traffic to clear may result in a motorist trying to pass unsafely.

Section 42-4-1903 (5) 

The driver of a school bus that has stopped shall allow time for any vehicles that have stopped behind the school bus to pass the school bus, if such passing is legally permissible where the school bus is stopped, after the visual signal lights, if any, are no longer being displayed or actuated and after all children who have embarked or disembarked from the bus are safe from traffic.

Do not impede the regular flow of traffic. If a build-up occurs behind you, display professional courtesy.

10)  Check mirrors and traffic. Your stop procedure is almost complete, and you must move back into traffic.

11)  Enter the traffic lane. Everything looks good and it is time to get back on the road. A second look in the mirrors may help to avoid a collision.

Report Route Hazards

If, during the process of performing your route, you notice something that has become a hazard follow district/charter and service provider procedures for reporting such incidents. This could be a snowbank that is too high to see over, a tree in the road, construction, etc.