Harrisburg, PA – School bus drivers from across Pennsylvania arrived in State College this weekend for the 43rd Annual State School Bus Driver Safety Competition. The competition held on June 21 and 22 was held on the grounds of the Mount Nittany Elementary and Middle School.
The total number of drivers in this year’s competition reached 95 with 84 in the conventional category and 11 driving in the transit division. Drivers and competition judges arrived on Friday evening for an orientation and the written examination which was developed for the competition by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. On Saturday morning, the drivers competed in the skills portion of the competition which included a physical and verbal bus inspection; height judgement; diminishing clearance; simulated bus stop; railroad crossings; backing up; and curb line parking.
Congratulations to the following drivers who will represent Pennsylvania at the International School Bus Safety Competition being held on July 21 in Austin, Texas.
Conventional Bus Division
Ruth DelVecchio – Ruth drives for Krapf School Bus, West Chester (Chester County) and is a resident of Downingtown (Chester County), Pennsylvania. Ruth finished in first place at the state competition in 2015 and has competed in a total of ten state competitions. She will be making her second trip to the International competition.
Larry Hannon, Jr. – Larry is a driver for the Centennial School District (Bucks County). He is a resident of Warminster (Bucks County). Larry has competed in six state competitions and has achieved the highest written score at State’s in 2015, 2017, and 2018. This will be Larry’s first trip to the International Competition.
Transit Bus Division
Cheryl Vogelsang – Cheryl drives for On the Go Kids located in Downingtown (Chester County). She is a resident of Downingtown and has participated in numerous state competitions including a second-place finish in 2017. This will Cheryl’s eighth time competing at the International Competition.
Jim O’Toole – Jim is a driver for the School District of Haverford Township (Delaware County). He is a resident of Havertown (Delaware County). Jim has competed in over eleven state competition. This will be Jim’s second trip to the International Competition.
“This competition is all about these drivers who represent the best from across Pennsylvania. They trained hard and competed locally to make it here. We congratulate and wish our winners the best of luck as they move on the Austin for the International Competition,” said Dallas Krapf, Chair of the Safety Competition Committee, “I want to also thank all our volunteers and event sponsors who help make this event such a success.”
The complete results of this year’s competition can be found on the PSBA website at www.paschoolbus.org. In addition, you can view video footage from this year's competition by clicking here.
For more information, please contact Mike Berk, Executive Director at mberk@paschoolbus.org or (717) 975-1951.
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