Griffin earns bus roadeo honors

Lake Pend Oreille School District bus driver Donna Griffin recently competed in the Idaho School Bus Safety Roadeo in Boise and placed second place in the conventional school bus division.

The roadeo consists of a general knowledge written test, vehicle inspection written test, and 10 hands on driving events. The driving events are: elementary student loading, railroad crossing and clearance, backup alley, diminishing clearance, stop line, right turn, offset alley, straight line, parallel parking, and curb line. These events are conducted using a conventional 40-foot, 77-passenger school bus and is very challenging even to seasoned drivers.

Prior to the state roadeo a regional roadeo is held for each region to determine who will move forward and compete at the state level. This year, Griffin placed second at the Region 1 roadeo hosted by Moscow School District where Donna competed against 19 contestants. She then competed in Boise where there were 19 statewide competitors. Last year Donna place first in Region 1 and placed fourth at the state competition.

In addition to being one of the district’s route drivers, Griffin s also the LPOSD lead driver trainer and a student transportation state instructor.