On Saturday, June 11, bus drivers from around the state competed at the annual School Transportation Association of Indiana’s (STAI) School Bus Safety Competition. This year’s competition was held at Brownsburg East Middle School. This competition is designed to recognize excellence in school bus driving as well as give drivers the opportunity to demonstrate the skills and responsible performance of their jobs.

The general education competition was broken into three segments; pre-trip inspection, written test, and a skills test. The pre-trip event was scored as one event. The written and skills test were combined. The top winner of the written and skills tests is given the opportunity to represent Indiana at the International Safety Competition. This year, the International Safety Competition will be held July 17 in Greensboro, North Carolina.

The special needs competition was similar to that of the general education competition, but with some additional events. As in the real world, during the Special Needs driving course, the driver and attendant also had to deal with potential distractions of managing two students with emotional disabilities. The special needs bus driver and attendant also had to demonstrate car seat securement, an emergency event, wheelchair loading, and wheelchair securement. The top winning team (driver and attendant) is given the opportunity to represent Indiana at the National Safety Competition during the TSD Conference and Trade Show. The conference will be held March 17-22, 2017 in Dallas/Frisco, Texas.

A total of 100 bus drivers and bus attendants, representing over 35 school corporations from around the state of Indiana, competed in this event. Another 100 volunteers helped make this Safety Competition a success!

STAI Awards:

General Education

1st place Robin Hollcraft MSD Perry Township Indianapolis, IN

2nd place Stephen Ogden Brownsburg Community School Corp. Brownsburg, IN

3rd place Pam LaFollette MSD Perry Township Indianapolis, IN

General Education Team

1st place Robin Hollcraft MSD Perry Township Indianapolis, IN
Pam LaFollette Brandon Johnson

2nd place Stephen Ogden Brownsburg Community School Corp. Brownsburg, IN Deb Amburgy Crystal Myers

3rd place Tammy Davis MSD Perry Township Indianapolis, IN
Marty Moss, Tina Overton