Michelle Schurz, a driver for First Student in Grand Junction, Colorado, and a member of Teamsters Local 455, recently won big at the 40th annual NSTA School Bus Driver International Safety Competition held in St. Louis, Missouri. Here’s what she had to say about her win: 

“I won second place this year in the Conventional category. This is the third time I’ve been to this competition.

We had a regional competition in Grand Junction, I went to the state level and then on to the international level. There were about 100 drivers from all across the United States and Canada competing there.

I’ve been a driver for about 10 years. One of my friends who has been competing for a long time was the one who initially talked me into it.

I feel this competition has made me a better driver. You’re more aware of what’s going on around you. You drive every day, but there are things you don’t realize you need to watch for.

We have different obstacles we have to go through in the competition, like parallel parking, driving a straight line, crossing railroad tracks, things you do every day but don’t realize you do. We also had a written test.

A lot of it is normal stuff you do on a daily basis, except you don’t parallel park a school bus every day. I really can’t parallel park a car, but give me a bus and I can!

Another challenge in the competition was diminishing clearance. You drive through and can’t let the barrier touch the bus until it goes down to two inches on each side!

What this is all about is safety. Safety is so important. We are transporting children. There’s nothing more important than the safety of the children and getting them to school safely.

I think every driver should compete. My perspective on the competition is, especially as a new driver in your first year, it’s something you should do. It’s a skill level thing that you learn what you can and cannot do.

I received a plaque for my win and I got to meet with lots of other bus drivers. I was quite pleased and honored. I’ve also improved every year I’ve gone to this competition. The first year I was 18th and last year I placed ninth. This year I came in second. I do it every year in hopes of making it to the international level and whatever happens from there happens from there. When you get to that level everyone is there because they’re as good as the next person.

We will feature more of the Teamster drivers who competed in this event in the weeks to come. In the meantime, what lessons have you learned since you first became a driver? Share your thoughts in our Worker Discussion Forum.