October 17-21 is National School Bus Safety Week, and our partners at KWRL Transportation helped provide some of their top safety tips for being a safe, responsible, and respectful bus rider!
Always sit in your seat facing forward. School buses are not equipped with seat belts, so we need to rely on the engineering and design of the seat compartments. When students are out in the aisle and not oriented facing forward, then they are not being protected by the design of the seat compartment. The #1 injury in a bus accident is head trauma from students not sitting properly in their seats
Follow the rules and don’t distract your driver. When a driver has to address unsafe behavior on the bus, their attention is divided and it distracts them from focusing on the road. If a student is distracting the driver by breaking the rules, they are putting everyone’s safety at risk.
No eating on the bus. Some people have severe food allergies and could go into a critical medical crisis if they are exposed to certain foods either by direct contact, or even by exposure to airborne particles. While our schools have site nurses to assist with medical emergencies, bus drivers’ ability to respond is limited when out driving a bus route. Please respect the safety of other riders by not eating on the bus.
Be safe and respectful at bus stops. Engaging in unsafe behavior that could migrate out into traffic is extremely dangerous. You need to be visible to an approaching bus in order for the driver to see the need to stop, and you also need to be at least 10 feet back from the fog line or on a sidewalk, if possible.
Drivers must stop when bus lights are flashing. Drivers need to respect the flashing lights on a school bus and be prepared to stop when they see the flashing amber lights and a bus’ stop sign is engaged.
Keep your school updated about your students' transportation needs. Make sure your student is registered for the bus and boarding the bus at the correct bus stop. If your student is not registered for the school bus, then you will not receive texts and emails about changing bus and route conditions.