This was a very good training topic that I feel more school corporations should put together. I’m used to driving conventional buses, but drove a Thomas HDX transit one day, and has to ask where the hazard lights were because I could not find them. They are a little black button hidden behind the turn signal stalk. Little things like that vary between buses, but are extremely important for our daily functions as drivers.

@SchoolBusSass

3 жыл бұрын

We thought this might be helpful as well, particularly for our subs. We give the hardest job to the newest people... We like to do everything we can to assist them. Thanks so much for your positive feedback!

Therese! What would we do without you??? Keep on moving this trade up! Thx and God bless you and your family👼🏼

@SchoolBusSass

3 жыл бұрын

Blane, wow! Your comment and feedback made my spirit soar, thank you for your kindness. It’s fun to promote the vocation that drives my passion...see what I did there 😉 I’m blessed beyond measure, thanks again for your uplifting message! Have an awesome Memorial weekend.

@blanemassey6324

3 жыл бұрын

@@SchoolBusSass Ditto

Another amazing video by Ms Therese Mileti!!!!! Thank you so much for taking the time to make these training videos and for posting the videos to KZread so anyone around the world 🌎 can view them, again thank you so so much Ms Mileti!!!! Thanks, Walt

@SchoolBusSass

2 жыл бұрын

Walt, your thoughtful kindness, means so much. Thank you!

very interesting video, I was at Thomas Bus, engineering dept., for 13 years.

@SchoolBusSass

3 жыл бұрын

Hi Scott, Thank you for your comment. I’m curious, when a bus is being designed, particularly the drivers area, whom determines what the layout of the gauges, switches, gearshift? Are drivers ever included in the process?

@shawnzgaming9613

2 жыл бұрын

Yes mam

Hello Therese, I just obtained my CDL-B permit and am currently undergoing training. This video helps so much and is much appreciated! Thank you!

You have the cleanest buses i've ever seen.

@SchoolBusSass

Жыл бұрын

Thank you

Gracias therese por presentar esta modernidad en autobuses son los mejores seguros y confiables te felicito presentar estos vídeos felicitaciones ... bendiciones a usted y su familia

@SchoolBusSass

3 жыл бұрын

Domingo gracias, agradezco sus comentarios y amables comentarios. Bendiciones de Pascua para usted y su familia. 😊

I always thought it would be neat to be a bus driver

@SchoolBusSass

3 жыл бұрын

I think it’s pretty special! Always room for a new driver, why not give it a try.

Another good video and knowing me I prefer IC CE school bus just because there’s a lot of room in that bus

@SchoolBusSass

3 жыл бұрын

Thank you, Cody! Hope all is well in paradise. 😁

Nice video. I love bluebird so much more, but that may be a little biased because we only have bluebird, but I do wish we could get a C2 or something different soon.

Therese you should be the head of school bus safety. Your amazing. I don’t know if you remember me but I complimented you before and mentioned I had a bond with my bus driver when I was a child back in the 80’s and you remind me so much of her. Thank you for doing what you do. If I had a Son or Daughter I know they would be safe having you as their driver everyday only thing is I live in New Jersey lol

@SchoolBusSass

2 жыл бұрын

Timbuktu, such high praise, thank you for your kind thoughts and words. I think it’s so very special that you had such a positive and memorable bond with your school bus driver growing up. Your fond memories speak volumes of the driver you had and the type of person she was/is. What a gift! I aspire to be remembered as fondly to my “kids” …someday. Your comment most definitely made my day! Thanks again :)

@SchoolBusSass

2 жыл бұрын

Did you ask about Thomas bus maintenance schedules?

@timbuktug3321

2 жыл бұрын

@@SchoolBusSass no I haven’t asked but I’ll need to look into that

@timbuktug3321

2 жыл бұрын

@@SchoolBusSass my pleasure Therese😊

I love Internationals. All the others are weird! lol. You will get used to any of them you have to drive daily but for me I love the Internationals.

@SchoolBusSass

Жыл бұрын

I loved my IC, I drove it for six years. Now, I have a Bluebird RE Transit. I love it! It’s quiet, smooth, and has an amazing turn radius!

Your videos were instrumental in helping me get my CDL to become a bus driver in September! Thank you! I have a question I was hoping you could answer: which lights are required to be on when driving a school bus in the daytime besides the headlights? I drive a Thomas and when the switch is in the automatic position, my lights come on, however, the clearance lights/running lights go out when it is bright enough. They all do come on when I engage my wipers.

@SchoolBusSass

Жыл бұрын

Best practice, is to run your bus with the headlights switch set to the on position. When it does get bright enough, and your headlight switch is turned off, each time you set you parking brake, your headlights will turn off, then resume when you release your parking brake. I’m thrilled to learn the videos were helpful for you! Thanks for your comment and feedback.

I've driven one many times and I like the startup

The international RE has an air leak issue. The air gauge isn’t supposed to be split like that. Out of all of them, The internationals are still the better ones, they don’t use no silly pedal to move the wheel

Why a district would have so many make and models is beyond me. Pick one make and one model, be consistent. This must be a real headache for mechanics and drivers.

@SchoolBusSass

8 ай бұрын

The lowest bid generally receives the contract for purchase. Hence the variety.

@parkergray5346

2 ай бұрын

For most district run bus services they buy whatever buses they can get for the cheapest that year.

Can you do a video on just the various school bus brake tests on the different models of the school buses?

@SchoolBusSass

3 жыл бұрын

I will try to work on that this summer.

I've always wanted to become a bus driver and I've know a lot about them because of you.🎉🎉 You help a lot with your videos. If you have a Thomas hdx and edx please do the same like did on this video please

@SchoolBusSass

Жыл бұрын

Unfortunately, we do not have any Thomas hex or edx busses. I will see what I can do to make it happen.

@School_BusDriver

Жыл бұрын

@@SchoolBusSass ok thank u very much

I drive a 2016 international bus similar to this 2017. In the very back on the driver's side, it looks like there's a button for the child alarm reset in your bus. It may not be working for some odd reason. I also drove a 2005 international and it had a child alarm reset by pulling up the rear emergency door handle while the key is in accessory. The headlights will flash for a minute and a beeper sounds until either reset or one minute elapses, then it honks at you. On the 2005 and 2016 international buses, the controls for the service door, yellow warning lights and red override are all on the steering wheel. The biggest advantage with that is if you are traveling faster than 2mph, if you hit the door open button, the door will never open and it'll beep at you. When you're stopped with the red lights on and the door closed, once you start driving, the red lights will automatically turn off unless you drive with the red lights on and the service door is open. Some internationals, like yours, has the cruise control on the wheel. The door switch on the side can open the doors at any speed, unlike the door switch on the wheel. I wish more buses had a safety feature that if you're moving at any speed, the door switch will not open the service door until stopped.

@SchoolBusSass

2 жыл бұрын

The alarm on my bus has been deactivated, permanently. There is a serious design flaw with the alarm system. The key must remain in the ignition in order to disarm the alarm, making it necessary to walk back the entire length of the bus, with a bus filled with students to disarm it, when you shut down at any school to wait for a doors to open in the am. This could spell disaster if a curious child releases the parking brake while the driver is walking back to disarm the alarm.

All IC CEs have the Leave No Child Behind system, but we as bus drivers are supposed to walk the bus anyway upon route completion.

@SchoolBusSass

2 жыл бұрын

The busses can be ordered without this feature. Our new IC’s and RE’s do not have them.

I love school busses 💙

@SchoolBusSass

Жыл бұрын

Me too 😁

I'm looking to buy a used bus for RV conversion. Can you tell me the recommended maintenance schedule for Thomas brand buses? I was always bussed on a Thomas as a child, and have fond memories of them.

@SchoolBusSass

2 жыл бұрын

I will check with our mechanics and get back with you.

Hello Therese, Can you do a pre-trip inspection on one of your special needs buses in the fleet? I believe it’s an important thing to note for school bus drivers.

@SchoolBusSass

3 жыл бұрын

We will be working on this over the summer. I’m not sure which type of bus though.

@youtubevlogproductions1567

3 жыл бұрын

@@SchoolBusSass My Personal Opinion: Either An IC CE Or Blue Bird Vision.

@agboolaolomu6581

Жыл бұрын

Bus 🚍 school bus

I like this video and thanks for the info. Next try to drive it miss

@SchoolBusSass

2 жыл бұрын

There are numerous videos covering a variety of driving skills, with myself and other drivers demonstrating, on my channel. Is there something in particular you’re interested in viewing?

I used to ride on internationals all the time for school and I like them a lot more then Thomas buses

@SchoolBusSass

2 жыл бұрын

I agree.

What day will your new vid be released?

@SchoolBusSass

3 жыл бұрын

Our railroad crossing video will premiere tonight at 7:15. Upcoming videos will be brakes only and a RE transit mirror grid check.

Hello Therese Mileti I heard that you're going to do School BusPre Trip Inspection first International Conventional second International Transit RE Third RE Bluebird and Fourth Thomas CE Conventional that is very very good this is very happy I hope you do well

@SchoolBusSass

3 жыл бұрын

Hello, Iwinosa If you go to my channel, and search through my content, you will find pre trip videos on each of the above mentioned busses. I try to do at least one pre trip video every year. If you need links to the other pretrip videos, let me know.

My bus company would LOVE to have you!!! We all prefer air brake buses as well. Even though it seems most bus companies in my area deliberately train drivers WITHOUT air brakes ( I believe it's to make it harder for drivers to leave and drive truck), my company does not worry about that. Is the reason your IC buses have the dash mounted door control (instead of on steering wheel) because of the ability to turn on reds at a stop before opening the door? That's surprising the new IC doesn't have the NCLB alarm (NJ requires them installed in buses built after a certain date). What is the DVR button, a camera? That's a strange location for the 4ways!! (8:20) The IC RE has nostalgic features from the older internationals (the early 01-04 IC's) like the dash and gauge style , steering wheel, and old-school washer wiper switch. As the older style IC's are my favorite, (besides the Thomas) though it of course lacks the light check and cupholders.

@SchoolBusSass

2 жыл бұрын

Good morning, RR Skater Thank you for your comment and feedback! Our district stopped ordering the NCLB several years ago. They create an unintended safety concern. When you shut the bus down after engaging the warning/loading lights, you must walk to the back of the bus with the key in the ignition. We cannot idle our busses on school property, so…that means we must walk past all of our students to disengage the NCLB alarm leaving the drivers area vulnerable. The potential for disaster is too great. It would only take one curious child to disengage the parking brake. The DVR button is used to time stamp the video recording device. It’s particularly useful when someone runs your red lights or you have an altercation on your bus. You can go straight to the footage of the incident instead of wading through hours of footage to locate the incident. I have only ever driven for school districts that have air brake busses…21 years and counting.😁. What state are you in?

@railroadskater2896

2 жыл бұрын

@@SchoolBusSass Im in NJ, been driving the past 16 years. Its just unfortunate that (almost always) school districts instead of bus companies have the stop arm cameras. Here, it hardly justifies reporting violators unless someone really gets hurt by it. Though in the past my company would've sent a office staff person to the court case on our behalf(of course that's one of many casualties if covid), even so, it's much too easy for them to get off scott free. I even have a driver friend who drove for a district that had the cameras, even then it was tough to get results!!!! Yes that's the biggest achillees heel of NCLB. I suppose it's taboo to let the kids push the button after arriving at school (we do it, but of course we still need to check.) It became mandatory to add them in buses built in the past 15 or so years, as there was an epedemic of incidences. Back then, drivers were NOT fired for that; what a difference a few decades makes!!!!!!!!!!!

@SchoolBusSass

2 жыл бұрын

We do not have stop arm cameras either. Some surrounding districts are getting them but not enough to make a great impact. The amount of information needed to cite a motorist is very challenging to obtain, when you’re trying to drive the bus and keep all your kiddos safe. Even when you do get all the information necessary by the school bus driver, it’s not enough or the violators to be issued a citation. 😡. Recently, I had a near tragic event occur, when a driver from behind me, after stopping, decided he needed to come around me…as my child was crossing. Thankfully, the safety precautions we teach our children worked. The careless motorist finally did what he was supposed to do, stopping just before his vehicle was adjacent to the front bumper of my school bus. My student, was very close to the drivers side crossover mirror, when my horn was blaring. She reacted perfectly. She looked for the danger and went back to the corner of the street until I could safety cross her. Scariest moment of my 21 years of driving. This all took place, AFTER, the motorist had initially stopped. long enough for me to signal the child to cross to her place of safety. You just don’t know when motorists are going to do something stupid that could easily result in tragedy! I’m grateful for the safety procedures our state/district mandates and grateful my student executed the safety instructions taught to her flawlessly. And, if I’m being perfectly honest, grateful I was vigilant in following all of the safety protocols. Arguably a school bus drivers number one pet peeve… red light runners.

Do you drive school buses for a living or is it a part time job?

@SchoolBusSass

3 жыл бұрын

Between driving and training, it’s full time.

What’s your favorite bus I kinda like the blue bird AA Re

@SchoolBusSass

3 жыл бұрын

I really enjoy my International conventional, but I’m also a big fan of the bluebird RE transit, they are really quiet and such a smooth ride. I think the Bluebirds have a better turn radius. Makes maneuvers a breeze.

What is the DVR button for?

@SchoolBusSass

3 жыл бұрын

Great question! Thank you for asking. DVR, digital video recorder, is used to time stamp video footage. It’s very helpful when a driver has a red light runner. When you push that button, it time stamps the video in that location, making it easier to locate when reviewing the video footage. You can go right to the stamped location instead of wading through 7 days of video footage.

Do you have buses with the old-fashioned manual door with the handle?

@SchoolBusSass

3 жыл бұрын

Not any longer. The first two busses I drove had manual doors. The steering wheels on those old busses were huge!

@youtubevlogproductions1567

3 жыл бұрын

@@SchoolBusSass Personally I like electric doors and air doors. They look like you can open them with easy access with out reaching to the handle on the right. The door switch on the steering wheels look very easily accessible. I like those.

When did you first meet each of your coworkers?

@SchoolBusSass

3 жыл бұрын

Ed, 12 years Dave, 10 Sharon 9 Cathy, 6 This is my 21st year driving, 17 with this school district, and 16 years as a trainer.I trained Ed, Sharon and Cathy.

DRIVING BUSES FOR 34 YEARS THEY JUST GAVE ME A THOMAS 2023 I HATE IT!! The international was so much better.. -You have to (turn your head really far to look to the left almost as bad as texting and driving to look at the mirror on the left) In other words the mirror on the left hand side is probably 2 ft further back than the other type of buses definitely taking your eyes off the road definitely affects the peripheral vision.. - you have to use your leg and an old school break release to stop your bus. - The visor IS BLOCKING THE MIRROR TO SEE THE KIDS, AND THE MIRROR IS BLOCKING THE FAN 🤣 In the summer I would tell Mark I'm not driving this bus or I'm going home.. you need to have wind flow or something I'm not passing out and smashing into something because I'm dizzy and tired from the heat. - The driving position stinks you have to continuously lean over to open and shut the doors on the right hand side. It doesn't look like you can adjust the steering wheel. - And that brings me to opening and shutting the doors. How can a new bus not have automatic doors when it was on the steering wheel like the old buses.. you at the physically hold the switch up to open the door and you can't let go, and then you can't let go until the door is completely closed holding it down 🤣 - seeing the kids is not only hard because the visors in the way. It's at a straight angle not a higher angle like the other buses and the visor wasn't in the way where you can see what the kids are doing much more!! SO WHO DESIGNED THESE BUSES STEVIE WONDER, ASSISTED BY RAY CHARLES 🤣 -You have to (turn your head really far to look to the left almost as bad as texting and driving to look at the mirror on the left) In other words the mirror on the left hand side is probably 2 ft further back than the other type of buses definitely taking your eyes off the road definitely affects the peripheral vision.. - you have to use your leg and an old school break release to stop your bus. - The visor IS BLOCKING THE MIRROR TO SEE THE KIDS, AND THE MIRROR IS BLOCKING THE FAN 🤣 In the summer I would tell Mark I'm not driving this bus or I'm going home.. you need to have wind flow or something I'm not passing out and smashing into something because I'm dizzy and tired from the heat. - The driving position stinks you have to continuously lean over to open and shut the doors on the right hand side. It doesn't look like you can adjust the steering wheel. - And that brings me to opening and shutting the doors. How can a new bus not have automatic doors when it was on the steering wheel like the old buses.. you at the physically hold the switch up to open the door and you can't let go, and then you can't let go until the door is completely closed holding it down 🤣 - seeing the kids is not only hard because the visors in the way. It's at a straight angle not a higher angle like the other buses and the visor wasn't in the way where you can see what the kids are doing much more!! SO WHO DESIGNED THESE BUSES STEVIE WONDER, ASSISTED BY RAY CHARLES 🤣

@SchoolBusSass

8 ай бұрын

Not a fan of Thomas busses, either.

What Will Your Next Vid Be & When?

@SchoolBusSass

3 жыл бұрын

It will be a railroad crossing video. We are putting together our in service program from this summer, so the video will be released after that. I’d say probably sometime next week. Our school year ends Thursday, so not too long. Thanks for asking!

@youtubevlogproductions1567

3 жыл бұрын

@@SchoolBusSass It should also be noted that I do the same thing at school buses do it all railroad crossings regardless if there are signals or not whether I’m walking biking pulling kids behind me especially in a wagon.

Didn’t you guys have a 2004 TC/2000?

@SchoolBusSass

2 жыл бұрын

I believe we did a few years earlier.

you call IC's Intenational. why not calling Thomas, Freightliner?

What is a dvr and is there a way on the vision to put reds on before you open the door?

@SchoolBusSass

2 жыл бұрын

DVR, (digital recording device ) I believe the only way to operate your reds without the door being opened, would be with the manual override switch, which will go directly to red…with or without the door being open.

@harleyowens6882

2 жыл бұрын

@@SchoolBusSass ok good to know cause my bus driver does that and I wanna do it when I start driving a bus preferably a vision

@SchoolBusSass

2 жыл бұрын

@@harleyowens6882, why would you want to operate your reds before opening your service door? Your amber warning lights should be activated 300 feet before your stop location, then your red will automatically come on once you open your service door. I highly recommend this method to using only your manual override switch.

@harleyowens6882

2 жыл бұрын

@@SchoolBusSass I was wondering because my bus driver does it she turns amber on like 300 feet away and like 50 feet away she turn reds on also i think she does this because the heat wont leave the bus with the door open for a bit for kids to get on when its cold cold.

@SchoolBusSass

2 жыл бұрын

I do not recommend this practice. I believe it is still an automatic failure to drive with your service door open/ajar.

Not trying to sound rude, but it's IC, not International. International made school buses before IC was a thing. Both are owned by Navistar though.

@SchoolBusSass

2 жыл бұрын

Duly noted, thanks for the correction

I have a 2019 international!!

@SchoolBusSass

2 жыл бұрын

Nice!

Hi therese Mileti nice to see you in videos

@SchoolBusSass

3 жыл бұрын

Hello, Eevi 😁

@eevialasalmi5834

3 жыл бұрын

@@SchoolBusSass nice to meet you im watch videos with amazing yellow schoolbuses

@eevialasalmi5834

3 жыл бұрын

@@SchoolBusSass im from Finland

@eevialasalmi5834

3 жыл бұрын

@@SchoolBusSass you are the best schoolbus driver in america U.S.A

@eevialasalmi5834

2 жыл бұрын

@@SchoolBusSass im saying umm you are the schoolbus driver

2:27 "And this bus does not have a No Child Left Behind alarm" Isn't that a reset button right there?

@SchoolBusSass

3 жыл бұрын

That feature was disabled on that particular school bus.

@Reeseshead

3 жыл бұрын

Oh, got you. That makes sense.

What is DVR button?

@SchoolBusSass

6 ай бұрын

The DVR button is pressed any time you have a red light runner, or want to mark the digital recording device, so you can easily find the footage you are looking for of the incident that occurred. Hope that explanation makes sense.

@craiglittle7367

6 ай бұрын

@@SchoolBusSass Yes, it does make sense. Thank you…

I believe all school buses in my district have crossing gates, I know some of yours do not. All big buses should have them, I do not know why some of them do not. That seems quite dangerous.

@SchoolBusSass

3 жыл бұрын

Most of ours do not, and none of our new busses have them. Our supervisors believe if you are training your students the proper way to cross, they are not necessary. They also tend to break more easily in cold weather climates. I tell my students, I need to see your shoes. If I can see your shoes, you are far enough away from the bus if a car ever rear ends the bus, pushing it forward, the bus will not strike you. I have found that if I can explain why I am asking my students to do something, they are more apt to comply with what I am asking them to do.

@Jeepin290

2 жыл бұрын

All of our buses do not, really on towns and cities that have around 10,000 people to 200,000 people need crossing arms, but it is still dangerous because I live on a 1 lane highway / aka a very busy road and we don’t have them, we aren’t allowed to cross on that main road though.

I Heard That Conventional School Buses Have Truck Chassis. Is This True? I Don’t Think The Blue Bird Visions Are Though Because They Only Manufacture School Buses. Nothing Else.

@SchoolBusSass

3 жыл бұрын

Well, Bluebird and International, have their own bus chassis’s. Thomas uses a Freightliner engine and chassis, which is a straight bed truck chassis. Old For and Chevy did a very similar thing, but I believe they stopped producing them in the 90’s. I needed to confirm my reply, sorry for the delay.

@SchoolBusSass

3 жыл бұрын

The smaller 21 passenger busses, also use truck chassis.

@metronorthrailfan2244

Жыл бұрын

@@SchoolBusSass technically the type a school buses are based on a van chassis from Ford or GM. For GM it would be the Chevy Express or the GMC Savana cutaway and with Ford it would be the E-series cutaway such as the E350 and the E450

Some international's have door control on the steering wheel

@SchoolBusSass

3 жыл бұрын

They do... I’ve seen them, though we do not have any in our fleet with that feature.

@gradientgamer5480

3 жыл бұрын

@@SchoolBusSass not even flashers? Hydraulic brakes?

@SchoolBusSass

3 жыл бұрын

Are you referring to turn signals, hazard lights, or eight ways? We have only air brake busses that are diesel. I did get to demo an electric bus, that was super fun and very quiet!

@gradientgamer5480

3 жыл бұрын

@@SchoolBusSass some busses i seen had hydraulic brakes

@SchoolBusSass

3 жыл бұрын

Absolutely correct. I have not driven a hydraulic brake bus, but I know they’re out there.

I love blue bird visions but im not a big fan of the 09's

I'm driving an 2023 IC. It's ok...it's new....a little nicer than my old Bluebird 150,000mi. i find the steering flasher and door controls can get confusing if the steering wheel is not straight. GR8 that the State of Maryland doesn not allow stering wheel controls. I DO NOT LIKE THE CHEAP EXHAUST BRAKE on the IC. ALL of our IC buses use this limp engine brake. It is useless!! only one shift. (THE THOMAS AND FREIGHLINER AND BLUEBIRDS KEEP DOWN SHIFTING FOR A USELFUL ENGINE BRAKE) And all of that dam noise from the cooling fan. The local facility WOLFINGTON Bodyworks,,,,says that the noisy fan assists the engine brake. After use of the exhaust brake and this noisy fan. It stays engaged while trying to accelerate from a stop or going up a hill. When the fan diesngages the bus accelerates. I lose 200 RPM when that DAM fan is on. This is the part of an IC bus I DO NOT LIKE..........

@SchoolBusSass

Жыл бұрын

I'm driving a 2022 BlueBird RE transit. I love it. It maneuvers so well and is very quiet. My former bus was an IC. I like the International Conventional bus, but am not fond of the International Transit bus.

Africa

hi

@SchoolBusSass

2 жыл бұрын

Hello, Trevor

Does it ever snow in Ohio?

@SchoolBusSass

Жыл бұрын

Yes, about 20 inches per year. 😊 How about where you live?

@israellomelihousebuilds4720

Жыл бұрын

@@SchoolBusSass no I live in ca and I doesn’t really snoe

Could they not decide over brown or green so hey did both on that blue bird bus lol

@SchoolBusSass

3 жыл бұрын

IKR 😂... actually, when the seat coverings needed to be replaced, they used what they had on hand to replace them with.

@thelawnbarber9038

3 жыл бұрын

How come you guys do not get new blue bird vision instead of just the Flatnose one’s also what’s your favorite out of all them

@SchoolBusSass

3 жыл бұрын

Our new supervisor team loves transits. The BLuebird transit, in my opinion, is nicer than the International RE transit, but I really like my International CE. I waffle between the two, because there are things I like about about both. The Bluebird transit has the best turn radius! Is the BB vision your favorite?

@thelawnbarber9038

3 жыл бұрын

Yes it is I like Blue bird visions because they are very comfortable to drive well the newer ones

@thelawnbarber9038

3 жыл бұрын

Are you guys trying to go all transit buses even the wheel chair lift buses