News Release

For Immediate Release

LOCAL DRIVERS TAKE HONORS AT STATE SCHOOL BUS SAFETY COMPETITION

Montgomery County school bus drivers, Josh Simpkins and Russell Altizer, won 1^st place in the 2005 Regional School Bus Safety Road-e-o in both the transit and conventional class divisions, respectively. Both drivers were then eligible to compete at the State competition.

The 22nd Annual Virginia State School Bus Safety Road-e-o was held on Monday, June 20, 2005 in Hampton, VA. Josh Simpkins won 1^st place in the transit class, making this his second consecutive win since the transit class was added to the state competition in 2004. Russell Altizer placed 2^nd in the conventional class and won the competition in 2000, 2001, and 2004.

Road-e-o contestants have the option of driving in one of two different types of buses in the competition, either conventional or transit type school buses.

The competition consists of three segments:

• A written test in which the contestant demonstrates his or her knowledge of the laws governing pupil transportation;
• A written pre-trip test in which the contestant demonstrates his or her skill in making a thorough check of the bus before beginning their route; and
• A driving test that is made up of several events to test a drivers skills. Each event is worth a specific number of points for a perfect score. Drivers are given demerits for hitting cones or tennis balls outlining the various sections of the course, or for not being close enough to curbs or lines in other sections. They are timed as they go through the course so that in the event of a tie, the driver with the least driving time is declared the winner.

Both drivers from Montgomery County have been invited to compete in the 35^th Annual National School Bus Driver Safety Competition, which will be held on July 16-17, 2005 in Washington, D.C. Last year Josh Simpkins placed 2^nd in the transit class division in this event, and Russell Altizer placed 5^th in the conventional class division.