Date:  May 5, 2003
Contact: Irene Cromer
(703) 791-8720

 Prince William County school bus driver Laura Landis was the overall winner in the fourth annual Prince William/Fairfax Bus Drivers’ Road-eo held on Saturday, April 26.  Seventy-one contestants from the two jurisdictions participated in the event, the largest in the last several years.  The Road-eo was held at Prince William’s Eastern Bus Operations Center, located behind Potomac High School.

Contestants in two divisions, regular education and special needs, were required to complete a written examination to determine their knowledge of regulations and guidelines; their ability to perform a thorough pre-trip inspection of a school bus; and their ability to drive through a nine-skill area obstacle course. Special needs teams, which include a driver 
and an attendant, have additional requirements.  The team must load and properly secure a wheelchair and complete an evacuation within two minutes.  

Regular education division winners, all from Prince William County, include Laura Landis, first place; Harry (Skip) Ragon, III, second place; and Raymond Mason, third place.  Special needs team awards went to Prince William County bus drivers and attendants Laverne Payne and Beth Allison, first place; Jeanne Yawberg and Sarah Witt, second place; and Patricia Kreis and Docie Whitlock, third place.

Payne and Allison competed in the Virginia Special Needs Team Safety Road-eo on April 27 and place third.  Landis will represent Prince William County in the Twentieth Annual Virginia School Bus Safety Road-eo that will be held in Norfolk during the State Pupil Transportation Conference in June.