Connie Beatenbough has won the Annual Floyd County Schools Bus Safety Road-e-o for the second consecutive year.  Beatenbough is a regular in the winner’s circle of bus road-e-o competitions.  She won the Georgia state title in 2006 and also placed sixth in the 2006 International Road-e-o.  She also qualified to participate in the International competition in the summer of 2005.

The Floyd County Schools Bus Safety Road-e-o is an annual competition that tests the skill and driving knowledge of school bus drivers.  This was the 21st annual competition with a record 48 bus drivers from Floyd County Schools participating.  The drivers rode the range for school bus safety in this year’s rain soaked Bus Safety Road-e-o held on, Friday, May 1st.   The Road-e-o event took place in the parking lot across from the Board of Education office on Riverside Parkway.  Thunderstorms delayed the event for several hours. 

Participating school bus drivers were asked to drive a bus through an obstacle course designed to simulate difficult driving situations that might be faced on the road. The drivers were awarded points for successfully completing each section of the course.  Drivers were also tested on loading and unloading procedures and pre-trip inspection knowledge.

Connie Beatenbough, a bus driver in the Pepperell attendance area, placed first in the event with a score of 472; Gail Lanier, a driver in the Pepperell area, placed second with 468; and Tracy Swann, a driver in the Coosa area, finished third with 467 points. A score of 550 is the highest possible point total or a perfect score for the competition.  Lanier was unable to compete in last year’s competition due to an injury but she won the previous three Floyd County Safety Road-e-o events. 

Beatenbough and Lanier will now represent Floyd County in the state School Bus Safety Road-e-o to be held June 10 - 11, 2009 in Perry, Georgia. The first and second place winners at the state level will be eligible to participate with the best drivers in North America in International competition to be held July 18 – 19 in Greensboro, North Carolina.   

Bus drivers from Floyd County Schools have a history of strong finishes in Bus Safety Road -e-o events. Floyd County drivers have finished first in the district, state, and international competitions.  Pepperell area drivers, Connie Beatenbough and Patti Cox have both won the Georgia title.  Cox was also crowned the International Driving Champion in 1999.