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School bus & fleet glossary
The words school-bus and fleet people use every day, in plain English. For each state's rules, see school bus inspection requirements by state.
- Aide (bus monitor)
- An adult who rides with the driver to help students — often on special-needs routes.
- Annual (yearly) inspection
- A full inspection of a vehicle once a year — brakes, steering, suspension, frame, tires, lights, exhaust and more.
- CDL
- Commercial driver's license. School bus drivers need one, with the P and S endorsements.
- Child check
- Walking to the back of the bus after every run to make sure no child is left on board. Required by law in some states.
- Child-check alarm
- A system that sounds when the bus is switched off until the driver presses a button at the back — so they have to walk the bus.
- Cost per mile
- What a vehicle costs to run for each mile: fuel, maintenance, tires, insurance, depreciation and fees, divided by miles driven.
- Crossing arm
- The arm that swings out from the front bumper so students crossing in front of the bus stay where the driver can see them.
- Crossview mirror
- The convex mirrors at the front of a school bus that show the driver the area right in front of the bus.
- Danger zone
- The area around the bus — about 10 feet on every side — where the driver may not see a child.
- Deadhead miles
- Miles a bus drives with no students on board — from the yard to the first stop, and back.
- Defect
- Something wrong with a vehicle found on an inspection. A safety defect must be fixed before the vehicle is driven.
- DVIR
- Driver vehicle inspection report — the driver's written report of the vehicle's condition, listing any defects.
- Eight-light warning system
- The four amber and four red flashing lights on a school bus: amber when preparing to stop, red when stopped to load or unload.
- Emergency evacuation drill
- Practice getting every student off the bus quickly through the exits. States require them during the school year.
- Medical card (DOT medical certificate)
- The certificate showing a commercial driver passed the medical exam. Drivers can't drive without a valid one.
- MPG
- Miles per gallon: miles driven since the last fill-up ÷ gallons added.
- Out of service
- A vehicle (or driver) that may not operate until a problem is fixed — for example after failing a state inspection.
- P endorsement
- The passenger endorsement on a CDL, needed to drive vehicles carrying passengers.
- Post-trip inspection
- The check at the end of a run or the day: the child check, the passenger area, the outside of the bus, and reporting defects.
- Pre-trip inspection
- The check before every trip: the walk-around, engine compartment, driver's seat and brakes, and passenger area.
- Preventive maintenance (PM)
- Service done on a schedule — by miles, engine hours or date — to stop breakdowns before they happen.
- Quarterly inspection
- An inspection by a mechanic every three months, covering brakes, linings, lights, glass, doors, the fuel system and tires.
- Ridership
- Which students actually rode each run — picked up, dropped off, no-shows and absences.
- Route
- A school run: its stops (students), the school, the times, and the driver and bus on it — usually a morning and an afternoon run.
- Run
- One trip of a route: the morning pick-up or the afternoon drop-off.
- S endorsement
- The school bus endorsement on a CDL, needed (with the P endorsement) to drive a school bus.
- Split shift
- A driver's day with a break between the morning and afternoon runs.
- Stop arm
- The red STOP sign that swings out from the driver's side when the bus stops to load or unload. Traffic must stop.
- Substitute driver
- A driver who covers another driver's route while they're off.
- Work order
- A record of a repair: the problem, the labor and parts, what was done, and the cost.
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