1. Preventing Distracted Driving
Maintaining Focus Behind the Wheel of a School Bus
Instructor Notes:
Display this slide as participants enter the room to allow them to begin to think about this topic. It will also reassure them they are in the right place.
Cover the logistics of the facility before beginning, such as the emergency exits, restroom locations, and smoking policy.
Ask participants to silence cell phones and be respectful with side-conversations.

2. OUR THANKS!
“This educational program was funded by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration with a grant from the New York Governor's Traffic Safety Committee“

3. N.Y.A.P.T.
The New York Association for Pupil Transportation has produced this educational program as part of a Highway Safety Grant provided through the Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee with NHTSA funding. (2017)
NYAPT wishes to thank the Pupil Transportation Safety Institute (PTSI) for its collaboration in the design and development of this educational offering.

4. Today We Will Discuss… Dangers of Distraction While Driving
Another Aspect Of Distraction For The Professional Driver
Concentration
Distraction Prevention For The School Bus Driver
Instructor Notes:
Briefly cover the topics for today’s training.
Resist the urge to begin training from this slide – there is much greater detail in the slides to come.

5. Statistics Demonstrate a Significant Problem…
Ten percent of fatal crashes, 15 percent of injury crashes, and 14 percent of all police-reported motor vehicle traffic crashes in were reported as distraction-affected crashes.
In 2015, there were 3,477 people killed and an estimated additional 391,000 injured in motor vehicle crashes involving distracted drivers.
Nine percent of all drivers 15 to 19 years old involved in fatal crashes were reported as distracted at the time of the crashes.
In 2015, there were 551 non-occupants (pedestrians, bicyclists, and others) killed in distraction-affected crashes.
Instructor’s Notes:
These statistics are according to the US Department of Transportation - NHTSA and were published in their March 2017 “Research Note” publication.
This data more than demonstrates a significant concern and problem in our traffic environment.
This is (or should be) a huge concern for professional school bus drivers.
Let’s discuss distraction I a little more detail…

6. Two Types of Driver Distraction
Internal:
Things we think about, feel, experience inside our body and mind.
External:
Anything outside our body that draws our attention, other than the task we are directly performing.
Instructor Notes:
Engage the participants in a discussion about which of these types of distraction are the most dangerous for school bus drivers.
Require them to justify their answer – why do they think this?
There is no one answer here…the object of this discussion is to get their minds thinking deeply about the topic.

7. Write your list on the flip chart paper!
Group Activity
In your group make a list of things that could distract you while doing your job:
At home before coming to work
At work before leaving on the route
During loading and unloading
Driving on the route
Parking the bus at the garage
Write your list on the flip chart paper!
Instructor Notes:
Break the audience into 5 groups and assign each one of the 5 identified areas to work on. Give the small groups about 10 minutes to create their list of distractions connected to each of these areas.
Have participants hang their flip charts around the room for you to reference throughout the training as a visual representation of the distractions they face daily.
When finished have someone from each group share their list of distractions with the entire group. Please have them stand and speak loudly to allow everyone to hear them.
If your group is too small to create 5 groups, then handle this activity as a large group activity – brainstorm together and write the results of the brainstorming on the flip charts and post around the room .
This activity serves to make them more aware of the potential distractions in everything they do connected to the job of driving a school bus.
Overall this activity should take approximately 20 – 30 minutes depending on the length of discussion related to the lists posted.

8. In This Next Video…
You will see a school bus doing what school bus drivers do all over the country, every day…
After watching the video, we will discuss how this could have been prevented…
Instructor Notes:
The next video will play automatically when you advance to the next slide.

9. Source Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6P4MXquWzg

10. Pitfalls of Multi-tasking
The human brain cannot perform two tasks at the same time.
Our brain handles tasks sequentially, depending on the priority each is given in our minds.
When we attempt to perform several tasks all at once, we are unable to do any of them well.
Instructor Notes:
The human brain does not have the ability to actually perform two tasks at the same time.
Our brain handles tasks sequentially, depending on the priority each is given in our minds. When we attempt to perform several tasks all at once, we are unable to do any of them well.
Engage the participants in a discussion by asking them if they have ever experienced this type of overload in their personal lives. Encourage someone to share an example.

11. The Overloaded Brain
Our brain is bomb-barded by too much input – seeing and hearing – throughout our day.
Multi-tasking has become a way of life.
When we are overloaded, our skills which allow us to refocus, are not as sharp!
Instructor Notes:
Complicated, busy lives have become common. At one point or another, we all experience an overloaded brain.
Our brain is bomb-barded by too much input – visually and audibly – throughout our day.
Multi-tasking has become a way of life.
When we are overloaded – sleepy, hungry, tired, we are even more easily distracted. We are off “our game”. Our skills, which allow us to refocus, are not as sharp!

12. The Brain Filters Information
The brain filters in sequential order
Multi-tasking causes information to come at us simultaneously, reducing the ability to focus on each
Our brain filters the less important information out - prioritizes
Instructor Notes:
The brain filters information in sequential order. When we need to multi-task, the “information is coming at us simultaneously – too quick for our brain to be able to adequately focus on each, so our brain filters according to priority.
Emphasize to the participants that all this brain filtering happens in a split second and in their sub-conscious mind.

13. When Filtering the Brain Prioritizes
We subconsciously prioritize which to focus on and in what order.
Not all information can be focused on simultaneously and some is lost.
When this happens, we are not aware of information being filtered out.
However, the “circumstances of the day” can change the order of priority!
Instructor Notes:
We subconsciously prioritize which to focus on and in what order. Not all information can be focused on simultaneously and some is lost.
When this happens, we are not aware of information being filtered out.
The filters our brains use are dictated by our values, morals and social norms of our culture.
However, the circumstances of the day can change the order of priority!

14. Priorities Re-order Your Responses
Example: you are stopping to unload students, a student cries out and you are monitoring traffic all at the same time.
Your brain will filter, prioritize and respond as follows:
Stop the bus
Check on the student
Continue to monitor traffic
Your brain automatically assesses the student crying out to be the critical task, and responds to it.
When we experience distractions in a rapid succession that are all nearly equal in priority – we lose some of them all together.
Instructor Notes:
When presented with multiple tasks to focus on simultaneously, your brain filters and prioritizes what to focus on and when.
Your brain automatically assesses the student crying out to be the critical task, and responds to it.
When we experience distractions in a rapid succession that are all nearly equal in priority – we loose some of them all together.
Note: This example gives us just a glimpse of how potentially dangerous some of what we do can be!

15. The Circumstances Can Change the Prioritization
In this scenario, your brain automatically assesses the student crying out to be the critical task, and responds to her/him.
Remember the “circumstances of the day” we talked about earlier?
What If earlier you had received information of a suspicious person at the bus stop?
How might this change your response order?
It depends heavily on the situation – but your brain is constantly aware of all this situational criteria.
Instructor Notes:
In this scenario, your brain automatically assesses the student crying out to be the critical task, and responds to her/him.
Remember the “circumstances of the day” we talked about earlier? The report of a suspicious person at the bus stop might have changed the priority to stopping the bus at the bus stop – perhaps the driver’s focus would be there first…
It depends heavily on the situation – but your brain is constantly aware of all this situational criteria.

16. Think About Loading and Unloading
When prioritizing things– we lose some information all together
When things are nearly equal in priority we cannot afford to lose any part of the process
The most dangerous task we perform is loading and unloading students
If we begin to think about the process of loading and unloading, we realize that the brain is experiencing input in rapid succession – seemingly simultaneously
Remaining focused is critical
Instructor Notes:
When we experience distractions in a rapid succession that are nearly equal in priority – we lose some of them all together.
As school transportation professionals, we all know that the most dangerous task we perform is loading and unloading students.
Statistically, the data shows that students are injured or killed during this process more than any other time during transportation.
If we begin to think about the process of loading and unloading, we realize that the brain is experiencing input in rapid succession – seemingly simultaneously.
We cannot afford to lose any information during this process!

17. Group Activity
In your group, specifically identify a “piece” of information your brain might receive during the process of loading or unloading students.
Make a list on your flip chart paper and hang it in your area when you Are done.
You will have approximately 10 minutes – work quickly please!
Instructor Notes

18. Driving Is An Act Of Concentration!
Dangers of driving distracted are well documented.
School Bus Drivers are not exempt!
School Bus Driver's responsibilities to students and families are enormous.
There is a lot at stake…
Instructor Notes:
The dangers of driving distracted are well documented in crash statistics, the evening news and in governmental studies. School bus drivers are not exempt from the compulsions of distracted driving. As a professional who is driving school students to and from school everyday, the responsibility to resist distraction becomes amplified.
We have discussed the dynamics of distraction and how the human brain responds to sensory overload.
There are children’s lives at stake – efforts to prevent distracted driving are crucial.

19. A School Bus Driver's Concentration Shifts Constantly
Your brain is focusing and refocusing all day long
In the process your brain prioritizes and does not respond to many things. It sees but does not register.
You may be looking right at something but not see it and not react appropriately.
The National Safety Council calls this phenomenon, "Inattention Blindness".
Instructor Notes:
Your brain is focusing and refocusing all day long as your attention bounces from students on your bus to traffic, to pedestrians, to maneuvering the bus, to the road, to children playing in a yard, and many more.
In the process your brain prioritizes and does not respond to many things. It sees but does not register – remember the filter?
You may be looking right at something but the mental distraction you may be experiencing, causes you to not see it and react appropriately.
The National Safety Council calls this phenomenon, "Inattention Blindness".

20. School Bus Drivers are NOT Exempt
This could happen to any one of us!
Saying, "I would never do that." really is not the reality – it is how our brain works
You can’t control it
Awareness will help to prevent the impacts of distraction on the safety of our students
Instructor Notes:
Reconcile yourself to the fact that this phenomenon – “Inattention Blindness” – is working against your safety process.
Saying, "I would never do that." really is not the reality – it is how our brain works, we are not super humans!
We can not change how are our brain works – but awareness will help us to prevent the impacts of distraction on the safety of our students.

21. 7 Tips for Maintaining Concentration While Driving…
Stay away from cell phones
Make adjustments before you begin – adjust mirrors, temperature, radio, seat etc.
Verbalize (out loud) what you are doing that requires concentration
Safely pull over if students demand your attention
Get adequate rest before driving
Eat before driving - not during
Stay hydrated
Instructor Notes:
These 7 tips are the most common for maintaining concentration behind the wheel – but maybe the participants have something that works well for them. Ask them to share!
School bus drivers must multi-task to function as a school bus driver – staying alert to the dangers of losing focus and concentration is critical.
The awareness of the potential will assist the school bus driver in preventing a dangerous distraction.
Be a smart driver – not a distracted one!

22. Another Aspect of Distraction
As professional drivers – it’s not all about us
Defensively it is about other motorists too
Statistics show that drivers spend more than half of their time behind the wheel distracted from driving the vehicle
Instructor Notes:
Ask your participants to think about every driver they meet out on the route – half of them are distracted according to statistics.
They must be alert to these drivers – half of all drivers they meet are not encouraging odds.

23. The Drivers You Come in Contact With Are Distracted too!
Distraction contributes to more than 5,000 traffic fatalities each year
Passengers, eating, and in-car technologies can also cause distractions – it’s not just texting and phone calls
Distracting events include "latency".  Texting while stopped at a traffic light can negatively affect full driving engagement once the light turns green for an average of 27 seconds after you've stopped texting.
Instructor Notes:
These statistics further demonstrate the importance of defensive driving.
Not only is the concern for our own distractions behind the wheel but others as well!

24. It is Impossible to Drive Defensively While Distracted
Several studies believe that distracted drivers pose a greater threat than drunk drivers!
Since statistics show that 50% of all drivers are distracted - assume that every driver is distracted.
Pedestrians, bicyclists too!
How tragic for two drivers who are both distracted to meet at an intersection!!
Instructor’s Notes:
Driving while distracted makes it impossible to drive defensively – your focus is not on the task of driving!
We must assume and prepare for every driver to be distracted – odds are they are!

25. SPIDER Scan for potential threats
Predict where those threats will come from
Identify actual threats
Decide whether to act and what action to take
Execute appropriate
Responses to those threats
Spider: A Framework for Understanding Driver Distraction
Strayer & Fisher, Univ. of Massachusettes, Amherst Human Factors, Vol 58, No.1 February
Developed acronym to combat distracted driving
Defensive driving requires actively engaging in a complex series of tasks…SPIDER
Instructor Notes:
Using the SPIDER acronym will assist driver in remembering how to recognize a distracted motorist in their immediate area.
Also, if they are performing this scan – it will prevent them from becoming distracted from the task of driving.

26. Defensive Precautions for Sharing the Road with Distracted Motorists
Distracted drivers behave similar to drunk drivers
Watch for signs of other motorists being distracted:
Weaving in and out of their lane
Looking down at a cell phone
Body movement in and out of the drivers compartment
Erratic braking
Speed that doesn’t coincide with traffic flow
Slowing down with no logical explanation
Eating, drinking, using make-up, brushing hair, looking at a map etc.
Use evasive action to avoid them on the road
Instructor Notes:
Watching for distracted drivers while out on the road is a critical defensive driving function.
Evasive action such as slowing down or safely passing etc. should be used to create a distance between your school bus and the other motorist.
Remember that they are distracted so as a professional driver, you must be SAFE for both of you!

27. Awareness is the Key to Preventing the Dangerous Impacts of Distraction
Obviously school bus drivers can't stop doing multiple things
Awareness is a great tool to combat distraction and dangers of multi-tasking.
By being aware of the potential for missing something critically important to safety – we will prepare for prevention.
Check and double check…
Instructor Notes:
The job of driving a school bus is full of things that require multiple tasks to complete.
Being aware of the potential for distraction and just how dangerous it is will allow the driver to prepare to prevent it.

28. Distraction Prevention - Summary
Stop the bus in a safe place to deal with distractions inside the bus
Know the route – reduce dependency on the route sheet
Drive defensively – recognize a distracted driver around you and avoid interaction with them
Get proper amounts of rest and eat a balanced diet.
Eliminate cell phone or other technology use while driving
There is a lot riding with you – stay focused!
Instructor Notes:
Use a checklist whenever you feel you have become distracted, to refocus and stay on track with any task.
Stop the bus in a safe place to deal with distractions inside the bus; sick child, behavior issue, look at the route sheet etc.
Know the route – be informed regarding detours, construction projects or events that may cause distraction.
Get proper amounts of rest and eat a balanced diet.
Stay positive and upbeat. Use positive internal dialogue to keep your mind in the present – say them out loud if you have to!
Above all else, eliminate cell phone or other technology use while driving.

29. Instructor Notes:
Take time to address any questions and listen to comments. Reinforce the lessons here.

30. Thank You For a Great Training!
Bibliography
iving2015.pdf
Instructor Notes:
Thank your participants for a great training and wish them safe home.