The School Bus CDL Exam is required if you want to get a school bus or charter bus endorsement. It is not required for getting a Class A CDL to drive a big rig. Bus drivers must have a commercial driver's license if they drive a vehicle designed to seat 16 or more persons, including the driver.

Bus drivers must have a passenger endorsement on their commercial driver license. To obtain the endorsement, you must pass a knowledge test on the Safe Driving and (this section) portions of the CDL manual. If your bus has air brakes, you must also pass a knowledge test on air brakes. You must also pass the skills/drive tests required for the class and type of passenger vehicle you plan to drive.

This section covers:

• Vehicle Inspection
• Loading
• On the Road
• After-trip Vehicle Inspection
• Prohibited Practices
• Use of Brake-door Interlocks

Before driving your bus, make sure it is safe. You must review the inspection report made by the previous driver. Only if defects reported earlier have been certified as repaired or not needed to be repaired, should you sign the previous driver's report. This is your certification that the defects reported earlier have been repaired.

Make sure the following are in good working order before driving:

• Service brakes, including air hose couplings (if your bus has a trailer or semitrailer).
• Parking brake.
• Steering mechanism.
• Lights and reflectors.
• Tires (front wheels must not have re-capped or re-grooved tires).
• Horn.
• Windshield wiper or wipers.
• Rear-vision mirror or mirrors.
• Coupling devices (if present).
• Wheels and rims.
• Emergency equipment

Do not allow riders to leave carry-on baggage in a doorway or aisle. There should be nothing in the aisle that might trip other riders. Secure baggage and freight in ways that avoid damage and:

• Allow the driver to move freely and easily.
• Allow riders to exit by any window or door in an emergency.
• Protect riders from injury if carry-ons fall or shift.

Buses may carry small-arms ammunition labeled ORM-D, emergency hospital supplies and drugs. You can carry small amounts of some other hazardous materials if the shipper cannot send them any other way. Buses must never carry:

• Division 2.3 poison gas, liquid Class 6 poison, tear gas, irritating material.
• More than 100 pounds of solid Class 6 poisons.
• Explosives in the space occupied by people, except small-arms ammunition.
• Labeled radioactive materials in the space occupied by people.
• More than 500 pounds total of allowed hazardous materials and no more than 100 pounds of any one class.

Riders sometimes board a bus with an unlabeled hazardous material. Do not allow riders to carry on common hazards such as car batteries or gasoline. See Section 2 and Section 9 for additional information on hazardous materials.

Accidents In Intersections:

The Most Common Bus Accidents: Bus accidents often happen at intersections. Use caution, even if a signal or stop sign controls other traffic. School and mass transit buses sometimes scrape off mirrors or hit passing vehicles when pulling out from a bus stop. Remember the clearance your bus needs and watch for poles and tree limbs at stops. Know the size of the gap your bus needs to accelerate and merge with traffic. Wait for the gap to open before leaving the stop. Never assume other drivers will brake to give you room when you signal or start to pull out.

Speed In Curves

Accidents on curves result from excessive speed, often when rain or snow has made the road slippery. Every banked curve has a safe "design speed." In good weather, the posted speed is safe for cars but it may be too high for many buses. With good traction, the bus may roll over; with poor traction, it might slide off the curve. Reduce speed for curves. If your bus leans toward the outside on a banked curve, you are driving too fast.

Bus drivers must stop at railroad crossings:

• - At streetcar crossings.
• - Where a policeman or flagman is directing traffic.
• - If a traffic signal is green.
• - At crossings marked as "exempt" or "abandoned.

• Avoid fueling your bus with riders on board unless absolutely necessary. Never refuel in a closed building with riders on board.
• Do not talk with riders or engage in any other distracting activity while driving.
• Do not tow or push a disabled bus with riders aboard the vehicle, unless getting off would be unsafe. Only tow or push the bus to the nearest safe spot to discharge passengers. Follow your employer's guidelines on towing or pushing disabled buses.

• 1. Name some things to check in the interior of a bus during a pre-trip inspection.
• 2. What are some hazardous materials you can transport by bus?
• 3. What are some hazardous materials you cannot transport by bus?
• 4. What is a standee line?
• 5. Does it matter where you make a disruptive passenger get off the bus?
• 6. How far from a railroad crossing should you stop?
• 7. When must you stop before crossing a drawbridge?
• 8. Describe from memory the “prohibited practices” listed in the manual.
• 9. The rear door of a transit bus has to be open to put on the parking brake. True or False?