2008-2009 NYSED Refresher pre-trip and post-trip - No Excuses - Instructor Notes

Oct 13, 2026

Instructor notes for a 2008-2009 NYSED refresher lesson focused on bus driver and attendant walkaround safety. The content explains the purpose of “No Excuses,” emphasizes shared responsibility across New York State, and guides classroom engagement through activities such as an Inspection Crossword. It also covers how to discuss odds of severe incidents, presents key “HOT TOPICS” (mirrors, emergency exits, security, sleeping children, parking), and differentiates guidance for overhead vs. computer projection.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryPresentations

FormatPDF

Pages21

Reading Time7 min

AccessFree to download

Today’s Objectives

Actively caring for safety

Doing a daily personal pre-trip

Hot inspection topics: Mirrors, Emergency Exits, Security, Sleeping Children, Parking the bus

Instructor Notes (pre-trip and post-trip refresher)

Purpose of “No Excuses”

Group Activity: Inspection Crossword

Printed Overheads guidance

Odds and safety messaging

2008-2009 NYSED Refresher pre-trip and post-trip: No Excuses 1 Instructor Notes: Be sure to read the Lesson Plan and the Background Information in your PDS manual in preparation for teaching. •Explain the reason for the refresher title – no excuses. These inspections are not complicated or influenced by anyone other than the drivers and attendants themselves. It’snot like defensive driving where you have to compensate for the actions of others. If you don’t do an inspection, it’s because you chose not to. •You can also highlight the fact that all drivers and attendants in New York State are receiving this same instruction. If all of us can get together and commit to doing these inspections properly, children’s lives will be saved and no drivers or attendants will lose their jobs because of poorly done or skipped inspections. The first part of this lesson works to develop this sense of shared mission. Group Activity: Pass out the Inspection Crossword to drivers and attendants as they enter the classroom and make sure they have something to write with for this and other activities. Encourage them to begin working on the crossword and let them know that it is OK to work together – this is not a test. Printed Overheads: If you are printing these pages for use on an overhead projection, there are comments at the bottom of the Notes Pages for specific instructions that differ from the use of computer projection. For slides that have bulleted lists enter one point at a time, use progressive disclosure to achieve the same effect. These “Notes Pages” are not meant as a script, but to provide the intended background material for you to put into your own words and share through the lens of your own experience. The Background material in the PDS manual includes more detail on some of these topics. 2008-2009 NYSED Refresher pre-trip and post-trip: No Excuses 2 Instructor Notes: Use this slide to talk frankly about the odds. In fact, most bus drivers will not be involved in a fatal accident. Even so, you can stress how the loss of a classmate, family member, co-worker, or friend can be devastating – you might want to offer a personal or local example – it doesn’t have to be school bus related. •20 children a year includes an average of about 13 killed in the loading zone and 7 killed as bus passengers in crashes. These numbers fluctuate by as much as 100 percent annually because the numbers are so small that a single occurrence like the Huntsville, Alabama crash can push the numbers up for a year. •If there are 550,000 school buses on the road in the US, each drivers individual odds are 20/550,000 or 1 in 27,500 . Chances are pretty good it won’t be you – BUT is that a reason not to care? •Making the jump from an individual driver or attendant to an operation, a 100 bus fleet is likely to experience a fatality once every 275 years. Another way to look at this that is more immediate is to say that in 275 100-bus fleets, one will have a fatal accident this year. •New York State transports about 1/10th of all the children in the country so statistically that means about 2 children a year in New York State. These could be upstate, they could be downstate, but unless everyone makes a decision to be better than the rest ofthe country, they will happen here. •The bottom line is,“Who do I consider a part of my circle of concern?” The whole point of the beginning of this lesson is to get drivers and attendants to not just dismiss doing quality pre-trips and post-trips that might uncover vandalized brake lines, bulbs out in the loading or brake lights, or sleeping children just because it probably won’t happen to them, but to broaden their circle of concern to include all students drivers and attendants. That would mean that everyone/every day chooses to do the right thing. Group Activity: Ask them briefly how a news report of a school bus fatality can affect them even ifit’s not their bus. Answers might include imposition

FAQs

What is the goal of the “No Excuses” refresher lesson?

To reinforce that quality pre-trips and post-trips are essential and that inspection failures are choices, not excuses. The lesson also builds a shared mission so drivers and attendants broaden their circle of concern to protect all students.

How should the instructor use the Inspection Crossword activity?

Pass out the crossword as participants enter, encourage starting right away, and allow collaboration—clarifying it is not a test. Then use the clues to regain attention and transition participants from finishing the puzzle back to the lesson content.

Which “HOT TOPICS” are emphasized in the lesson objectives?

Mirrors, Emergency Exits, Security, Sleeping Children, and Parking the bus.

Oct 13, 2026

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