In most emergency situations, students will be safest and best kept under control if they do not evacuate the school bus.

The top portion of the overhead inside rearview mirror should be positioned to display the top of the bus's rear window. This mirror positioning should allow the driver to see all of the students on the bus, including the heads of the students sitting immediately behind the driver.

The examiner will score the number of times your vehicle touches or crosses an exercise boundary line. Each encroachment will count as an error, resulting in points against your skills test score.

A school bus has blind spots immediately below the side flat mirrors, immediately in front of the side flat mirrors, and directly behind the rear bumper. Rear blind spots typically extend 50 to 150 feet behind a bus but can sometimes extend up to 400 feet, depending on the length of the vehicle.

When examining the air and electrical lines as part of your vehicle inspection test, you must listen for leaks. Ensure that the air hoses and electrical lines are not cut, chafed, spliced, or worn. Make sure air and electrical lines are not tangled, pinched, or dragging against tractor parts.

When checking your vehicle's pedals during a pre-trip inspection, you should ensure that there is nothing under or around the pedals that will obstruct their use. Make sure the pedals are in proper working condition and that the surfaces of the pedals are grooved, if applicable.

When inspecting a trailer during a vehicle inspection test, ensure that its landing gear has no missing parts and that it is fully raised. The crank handle should be secure and the support frame should not be damaged.

During the on-road driving skills test, you may be asked to drive on an expressway. Make sure you maintain proper lane positioning, vehicle spacing, and vehicle speed. Continue to thoroughly check traffic in all directions while on the expressway.

When crossing railroad tracks during the on-road driving skills test, you must not stop, switch gears, pass another vehicle, or change lanes while any part of your vehicle is in the crossing.

When picking up students at a bus stop, you should come to a complete stop with the front bumper of the bus at least 10 feet away from the students. This forces them to walk toward the bus, allowing you to keep an eye on their movements.

Maneuvers that may be included in the basic vehicle control skills test include straight line backing, offset back/right parking, offset back/left parking, driver side parallel parking, conventional parallel parking, and alley docking.

When inspecting an enclosed trailer as a part of the vehicle inspection test, check the front area of the trailer for signs of damage, such as cracks, bulges, or holes.

The mirrors of a bus should always be inspected before a trip. Adjust them as necessary before beginning to drive.

You may be asked to complete a parallel parking maneuver into a parking space that is to the left of your vehicle. You should drive past the parking space before backing into it while bringing the rear of your vehicle as close to the rear of the space as possible. Your vehicle should be completely within the boundaries of the space.

Students on a school bus should remain seated until they are told otherwise. It is unsafe for students to walk around the bus while it is moving.

When approaching a curve during the on-road driving skills test, you must reduce your speed sufficiently before entering the curve so that you do not need to further brake or shift in the curve. Keep the vehicle in its lane and continue to check for traffic in all directions.

Before pulling away from a bus stop, a driver should make sure that there are no students running to catch the bus.

Passive railroad crossings are not controlled by any traffic control devices. At such crossings, it is entirely a driver's responsibility to determine when it is safe to cross the tracks.

There are blind spots immediately below and in front of each outside flat mirror. These mirrors have another blind spot directly behind the rear bumper.

Before a trip, ensure that the steering box is securely mounted. Check for missing nuts, bolts, and cotter keys. Be sure that there are no power steering fluid leaks and that there is no damage to power steering hoses.