After placing first at the state competition, Cobb school bus driver Michael Graham took third place at the School Bus Driver International Safety Skills Competition. It is an annual event that began in 1971.
The competition begins with a written test then the best drivers from the United States and Canada get behind the wheel.
“You maneuver through these tight spaces or you have to park the bus on a curve or you have to parallel park and a lot of it is timed,” said Graham. “It’s all about the students. The thing is to make us better drivers. That’s what we strive to do.”
Safety is his priority when he is transporting students.
“My main concern is drivers who pass the bus when our stop signs and lights are on. It is so dangerous and so scary, and it just worries the bus drivers,” he said.
Graham has been driving a school bus in Cobb County for 10 years. For him, there is no better job.
“We love driving the bus, we love the kids, we love our coworkers,” Graham said.
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