No one can say that Bus & Motorcoach News isn't accurate. A couple of years ago, the headline over my column read “Setting a Bad Example for Motorcoach Drivers Everywhere”. Under the headline was a picture of… me. I remember this because my wife, Susan, framed the page.

In one of life's ironies, that very week I was asked to speak at a Safety Awards Banquet, a really great bus line apparently feeling they could point at me and say, “Don't be like him.”

While pondering what to say, it occurred to me that in an age when electronic devices increasingly augment (or even supplant) drivers' skills, it might be helpful to do a top-10 countdown of things drivers do better than technology.

Here is the driver's top 10 list of things to be aware of when driving a bus, especially one with passengers on board.

10. Back-up Cameras are great... when the lens is clean, but they can only see where they're aimed. A driver can walk around the bus and see things the camera can't, spotting tree limbs and overhangs above the lens and surfaces too soft to support the coach axles.

9. Adaptive Cruise Control is fun, BUT it never checks the mirror before applying the brakes. Attentive drivers avoid sudden braking and the risk of being rear-ended or, my personal favorite, the spectacle of a passenger being launched out of the lavatory and down the aisle in a state of… disarray.

8. Lane Change Warning doesn't do much good where lane markings are abstract. Drivers who pay attention sort things out in ways electronics can't.

7. Tire Monitoring Systems are far more accurate than ye olde “thumping”, the tires, but they rarely eyeball the wheels to see if lug nuts are loose. Years ago, we stuck a new set of tires on my friend Don's bus. On his next trip, Don thumped the tires and noticed that one was... gone.  How would a monitoring system have handled that... that tire is probably still fully inflated, we just don't know where. Can you put a picture of a bus tire on a milk carton?

6. Fire Suppression Systems and Detectors are effective where they’re installed… generally in the engine compartment. Fires are sneaky and sometimes start elsewhere. The best detection device is still a driver's nose. The second best is their eyes. Good drivers pull over when things smell funny and take notice when motorists pull alongside and point out that the coach is trailing an orange flame. However, Suppression Systems rarely assist disabled folks and can't yell “evacuate”.

5. Antilock Brakes do a fine job, but by the time they go to work, you're already in trouble. Good drivers avoid disturbing them and launching folks out of the lavatory (That one is SUCH fun).

4. A GPS can be a great help, but it has a twisted sense of humor, sometimes seducing buses under low clearances for laughs.  When you really need it, like in cities, surrounded by skyscrapers, GPS often whines, “I can't see the satellites”. If its database is tired, it may not know EXACTLY where roads are. There's no substitute for an experienced driver taking a peek out the windshield.

3. Electronic Logging is going to make life easier for drivers, and like Mom, will help keep things neat. Unlike Mom, it won't pester you to get your rest and eat healthy. We still need drivers who are adult about using their off-duty time and know when not to drive.

2. Event Recorders tell you what already happened, but experienced drivers sort out what's happening before the Recorder illuminates the dread scarlet eye of doom. If that thing lights up, at least the coach has generated enough G's to irritate passengers. Recorders are like jealous siblings who rat you out, but never tell Mom when you did well. Good drivers bore them to death.

And...

1. The whole bus… back in the day, the kids we carried felt deprived if they didn't have a problem... it was part of the adventure, because our drivers made breakdowns fun. ABS never helps a passenger down the steps, and Event Recorders rarely keep customers informed and smiling when things go awry. Ever heard of a group tipping Adaptive Cruise Control for a job well done? Or writing a note complimenting the Back-up Camera for pointing out the sights?

My 92-year-old Mom recently moved to an assisted living facility that provides local bus service, and gave up driving (she'd been using the braille method lately). The bus driver's personality makes it fun to go places, and I'm convinced his attitude has added a couple of happy years to her life. GPS can't do that.

Thanks to those who taught me to be a bad example over the years. You know who you are. LOL!