CINCINNATI — School bus safety remains top-of-mind in Ohio. Two months ago, a fatal accident killed an elementary school student headed to his first day of school.

Since then, Governor Mike DeWine has created a working group to make sure school buses are a safe place for children.

What You Need To Know

  • National School Bus Safety Week highlights the importance of safety for students while taking the bus

  • First Student bus drivers are required every day to inspect their buses before getting on the road to ensure it's safe to drive

  • Gov. Mike DeWine has created a working group to make sure school busses are a safe place for children

This week is National School Bus Safety Week, and school bus drivers are going the extra mile to make sure their students are safe. Gay Simmons is one of them.

“When I was a young child, my mother took me on a bus and those bus drivers just were amazing and they impressed me,” said Simmons. “And I said, ‘When I grow up, I’m going to be a bus driver.’”

For the past 10 years, she’s been doing just that. She said it’s the students that keep her going. 

“They just depend on you and they look up to you and they know that you are responsible,” she said.

Being responsible for the children is not something she takes lightly and keeping her students safe is her top priority. That’s why she makes sure to thoroughly inspect her bus every day before getting on the road. Lights, mirrors and the doors are just some of the things she checks. But it doesn’t stop there. 

She has different safety procedures for the students too.

“I blow my horn. The children know to stop and look back at me for further instruction,” she said. “So I was able to stop children from getting hit by another vehicle.”

But Simmons does more than just drive. She also trains other drivers, making sure they have the tools they need to drive safely. A big part of that is keeping eyes on the road.

“We drive for ourselves and other people,” she said. “That’s what we’re taught here, and that’s what we teach. But there’s always, always that one chance that someone out there is not focused and they’re not watching. They don’t know anything about what we teach. And so you’re going to have accidents. But we are also well-prepared in taking care of situations.”

Overall, Simmons said she feels equipped to tackle any situation that comes her way. And it’s her mission to make sure her students feel protected. 

“We’re the first line of defense when the kids come out,” she said. “We’re the first thing that they see. Before they get to the schools and to their teachers. So it’s on us to start their day off well.”

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