Central Florida bus drivers gearing up to head back to school

ORLANDO, Fla. (FOX 35 ORLANDO) - It is called "pre-tripping," checking the emergency exits, lights, and signs on the school bus. 

Artisha Scott, a school bus driver for Orange County does it every morning before she leaves the compound on Hanging Moss Road. 

"Just to make sure everything is ok,' Scott said. 

Last year she had 26 stops along her Apopka route- that's over one hundred children she transported to and from school every day. 

The kids call her, "Miss Teesha."

"I hear my name a 100,000 times during the bus ride, but its ok because the kids are loving and caring and kind, they just want some affection," Scott said.

Scott left a long career as an LPN in Hospice before becoming a school bus driver two and a half years ago.

Scott said all too often, drivers fail to stop for school buses.

"Especially on the busy busy highways," Scott said, "they gotta know how important it is for them to STOP, you've got kids coming across, and not everybody sees the kids."

Bill Wen, Transportation Director for Orange County Public Schools, said a National survey found that in a single day, 1,900 drivers failed to stop for a school bus.

Scott is excited for the new school year; the new faces and names to learn.

"Those kids are caring and kind- you're never gonna feel love like you feel from those kids," Scott said.

Nine hundred orange county school buses will start test-runs on August 8.
They'll be driving from the bus stops to the schools and back to make sure parents have the most accurate pick up and drop off times.