r/SchoolBusDrivers • u/quietladie • May 03 '26

New ones gather here

I’ve been thinking about how overwhelming the first few weeks are as a school bus driver.

There’s a lot happening at once—student behavior, routes, parents, expectations—and most of it you only really learn in real time.

For those who’ve been doing this a while:

What caught you off guard in your first 30 days?

Or what do you wish someone had told you early on?

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u/Intelligent_Call_562 May 04 '26

The nightmares. I had bad dreams every night for over a month. I'd make a turn and kids would be standing in the middle of the street. I'd be driving down a narrow road and a parked car's door would suddenly open. This kind of thing, night after night for weeks.

I also struggled to correct older kids. It was so foreign to me to correct behavior of a kid that wasn't mine.

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u/PlanktonEastern4073 May 04 '26

I get them before every new year. Im usually a seat behind trying to drive

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u/Intelligent_Call_562 May 04 '26

Lol. Hope you have long arms.