Driving a school bus is not the most physical job, but it can still be wearing. The long days spent sitting in a chair are associated with countless health risks and many fleets do little to keep drivers in proper health. Thankfully, school bus drivers in New Hampshire have formulated their own strategy to improve their health and provide better services to students.
Over the past year, 11 of the 16 school bus drivers for the Supervisory Unit #88 – Lebanon School District have taken part in a community exercise program designed specifically for them, according to School Transportation News.
The program is the brainchild of Director of Transportation Wanda Hastings. In February 2014, Hastings contacted the Carter Community Building Association (CCBA), a local fitness center she frequented.
“I was working out at the CCBA and asked the instructor if we could include the drivers in an exercise and nutrition program,” said Hastings.
There are numerous reasons health is a noteworthy issue for school bus drivers. Not only is it important for drivers to provide positive role models for students, including by living a healthy lifestyle. Health and fitness is also critical for school bus safety strategies. Emergency situations can potentially include running and lifting students, and many bus evacuation trainings require drivers to practice lifting students of all sizes.
“Wanda wanted to do it because she was concerned about their health. (She) wanted to make sure their safety as well as the kids’ safety was being considered in what they were doing,” said Larry Ruffing, fitness director at the CCBA and instructor of the bus driver exercise class.
Since the inception, the classes have been meeting twice a week for an hour at a time to work on strength training and intervals. Ruffing and Hastings also believe they are seeing great results already.
“They are doing a great job — they have lost weight and are feeling stronger. Some of the male drivers are saying snow shoveling is a lot easier since they started working out,“ said Hastings.
“Three of them could not go up a set of stairs before. One individual said he couldn’t mow the lawn, couldn’t do laundry, couldn’t do things around the house. Now, every one of them can do those things,” said Ruffing. “It’s wonderful, and I’m so proud of what they’ve been able to accomplish. They stayed with it even during the summer, when school wasn’t in session, (and) were still coming in. I’m proud of what they’ve done.”
