According to the American School Bus Council, 26 million – more than half of the nation’s school children -- ride the school bus every school day. That’s a staggering 4 billion miles driven by school buses each year. And yet, school buses are the safest way for children to get to school. If you’re wondering about the environmental impact, the fact is that school bus exhaust emissions have been greatly reduced in the past two decades. In fact, today’s buses are 60 times cleaner. New technologies and pollution control devices have made new school buses produce only a small fraction of the pollution they generated before 1990. (Source: Environmental Protection Agency.)
Buses are the safest, most efficient mode of transportation for getting our children to and from school each day. When it comes to bus safety, riding is not the concern. The most dangerous aspects of riding the bus occur when students are getting to the bus stop and loading on and off the bus. It is during those times that students are at greatest risk from other traffic. This diagram shows the “Danger Zones” associated with getting on and off the bus.
Image found at http://www.nysgtsc.state.ny.us/kids/kid-schl.htm
School bus safety is really a matter of educating two groups:
Those who share the road with school buses (fellow drivers)
- Slow down and watch for children in crosswalks and waiting at the bus stop.
- Follow all school bus laws; they exist to keep our children safe.
Those who ride the bus (students who may be thinking about getting to school, but may not be thinking of getting there safely)
- Be sure the driver can see you - make eye contact.
- Stay out of the danger zone by standing three giant steps away from the bus.
- Never walk behind the bus.
- Be alert to traffic. Don’t assume that a car has seen you or will stop.
- Don’t play around when getting on and off the bus - this is time to focus your attention on staying safe.
More specific bus safety rules can be found online here, here, and here.
Parents, as the new school year begins, Macaroni Kid encourages you to talk with your child/ren about the importance of bus safety.
