Law enforcement provided valuable training to bus drivers

As a participant the recent "When Seconds Count" training exercises held at the Fair Grounds I would like extend praises to the city of Auburn for providing the grounds and to the police and fire departments and CHP for providing the wonderful trainers. These people gave of their valuable time to provide school bus drivers in Placer County with up to the minute training in many varied scenarios. It ran the gamut from possible hostage dynamics to school bus accidents; as well as many other things that most people won't ever think of. The trainers were informative and keep us all busy. I would also like to send a special thanks to Pam Zanze and Judy Holt and everyone involved through CASTO (California Association Of School Bus Transportation) for the opportunity of attending such a special and timely event as this. I would like to take a moment to personally comment on the recent bus driver training exercises. As a recently hired school bus driver I cannot begin to tell you how impressed I am with the training received in Placer County for the carriers of our most precious cargo, our children and grandchildren. For the most part I always assumed bus drivers were just there, part of the landscape of daily life. They magically appeared to transport our young to school. An effortless affair; how naive and uninformed I was. The training is intense and ongoing. The recent exercises practiced in Auburn were the epitome of professionalism and shows, again, how much our school systems value the safety of the children in our charge. While one would hope never to encounter the scenarios we were acting out, it never hurts to be prepared. To "practice due diligence" springs to mind regarding these exercises or better yet "forewarned is forearmed". To believe you would, as the bus driver, will be prepared to contend with worse case scenarios is only one more powerful tool at a drivers disposal. The making of a "school bus driver" is more complex and intricate than one might imagine. Many begin the journey and few finish. The hours of studying, practical application and the rigors of test after test do take a toll. I am proud to have completed the initial onslaught and come out the other side. With ongoing classes, such as this one, I will go forward knowing I have done everything I can to help keep our children safe. Bill CorsiRoseville