CINCINNATI -- First Student transports 13,000 children for Cincinnati Public Schools every weekday, and senior location manager Kenn Jones says it's much safer than driving or walking to school -- usually.
Although a bus' bright color and many rearview mirrors help make sure it's hard to miss and that it has a good view of surrounding traffic, motorists and parked cars can make it difficult for bus drivers to maneuver through tricky streets.
"When you need to make that left-hand turn, that car being parked there makes it extremely difficult if you've got traffic coming the opposite way," said longtime bus driver Reggie Jenkins. "If you have a car and anything coming up and we're blocked, we're unable to back up because of everything parked behind us."
Cars parked at the end of tight streets make it hard for school buses to sneak through. Likewise for smaller streets with cars parked on both sides and cars parked near stop signs.
"I will have to swing out to make sure my tail end doesn't touch that car (behind me) at all," Jenkins said.
He added that bus drivers have to have eyes everywhere when loading and disembarking children.
Although it's part of the job, it always helps for non-bus drivers to be cautious and mindful when they drive in school zones or near bus stops, and for parents to remind their children it's safest to be 10 steps away from the bus until a driver signals it's okay to come aboard.
