Tips for School Bus Safety in Winter Weather

Your bus routes are rarely as dangerous as they are in the winter. Cold weather makes bus driving far more difficult, with numerous new hazards to consider. Yet student safety must be maintained at all times, no matter the weather.

So, let's talk about prepping your bus fleet and your drivers for the dangers of winter weather.

Safely Running Your Buses in Winter

1) Watch the skies

Dangerous winter weather can develop quickly - and with climate change continuing to increase available energy in the atmosphere, storms are becoming increasingly hard to predict. Multiple people should be assigned the task of watching the weather, and always be ready to delay or cancel school if a bad storm is inbound.

2) Be able to quickly change routes

Having solid bus routing software can be a big help in the winter. If a specific area becomes dangerous, such as a bridge freezing over or a major accident causing a backup, you need to be able to adapt to the circumstances. Being able to change your routes and quickly push the changes to drivers will help avoid dangerous situations.

Also, give the drivers more leeway in adapting their routes on-the-fly. If they have a bad feeling about a stretch of road, or spot black ice, they should feel empowered to avoid the potential danger.

3) Inspecting your buses is even more important

Ideally, you should be inspecting your buses before every run, but it is particularly important in the winter. It's absolutely vital to ensure all heating elements are working, all fluids are topped off, the lights are all bright, and functions like the windshield wipers are working properly.

Plus, did you remember to use winter-ready versions of fluids such as wiper fluid, which would otherwise freeze? Be sure you've got the right fluids for the weather.

Also, this is an excellent time to make sure that every bus has a first aid kit (still within its use-by date) and other emergency provisions.

4) Train your drivers on winter driving

Even if your drivers are all locals who are accustomed to dealing with winter weather, give them some training before cold weather hits. It's vital that they keep things slow and steady on slippery roads, without rapidly accelerating or braking. Be sure they're also aware of where the bus's center of gravity is, and how easy/hard a rollover might be if there are high winds.

As an aside, if you're thinking about investing in electric buses, they're actually a bit safer on winter roads. The battery on the bottom will help them maintain traction and avoid rollovers.

5) Invest in a parental notification app

Delays, closures, and changes to the bus routes are all much more likely to happen in the winter. You need a good way to communicate these issues to parents - and smartphone apps are one of the best ways. Once installed on a parent's phone, you'll be able to push alerts and updates directly to them. This is typically much more reliable than calling or sending emails.

Also, these apps will allow parents to self-serve information. If there are bus delays, they can simply look up when their child is expected to arrive, without having to call into the office to ask.

BusBoss is here to help improve student safety on your buses, year-round. From better mapping software to hardware tracking systems, our business is making your bus routes better. Contact us to learn more about our services.