Haverford School Bus Driver Honored For Safety Performance

HAVERFORD TOWNSHIP, PA — A School District of Haverford Township bus driver earned high honors in the 2019 Pennsylvania School Bus Driver Safety Competition and was honored by PennDOT and Pennsylvania State Police officials recently.

The competition took place in June and recently PennDOT Bureau of Driver Licensing Director Kara Templeton and Trooper Zeina Black, Supervisor for the Permits and Bus Safety Unit of the Commercial Vehicle Safety Division of the Bureau of Patrol for the Pennsylvania State Police, presented certificates and governor’s citations to the school bus drivers.

School District of Haverford Township bus driver Jim O’Toole was among those honored.

O’Toole won the competition overall.

Beth McGowan and John Welsh of the Lower Merion School District took second and third, respectively, at the competition, as well.

The competition tests school bus drivers' knowledge of safety rules and safe operation of their buses.

"Bus drivers do an extraordinary job every day ensuring the safety of our children as they travel to and from school," said Black. "These drivers serve as a model for all school bus drivers and this recognition further reinforces the trust parents have in them."

For more information about school bus safety, visit PennDOT’s highway safety website online here and select the “Traffic Safety and Driver Topics” tab then select the “School Bus Safety” tab.

Editor's Note: a previous version of this story listed O'Toole as a Lower Merion School District bus driver. Patch regrets the error.