Bus safety involves everyone – the school, the students and the driver
It is that time of year again – a time for kids to trade in their
bikes for books and head back to school. But, when you are preparing
your child for the new school year, it is important to remember school
bus safety involves everyone: children, parents and the bus drivers.
According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, 400,000 school buses
are used to transport 25 million students each year. Also each year,
150 people are killed in bus-related accidents.
“Every school year we see children in the Emergency Room who have
been injured while riding or when trying to get on and off the bus,”
says Denise Dowd, MD, chief of Injury Prevention. “Bus drivers are an
important part of the picture too, along with parents and children.
Everyone needs to think safety first.”
Following is a list of criteria the American Academy of Pediatrics
suggests in selecting a school bus driver.
Drivers should . . .
Be screened and undergo driving and criminal background checks and
yearly health assessments, random drug testing and driving-skills exams.
Maintain a valid commercial driver’s license
Be a minimum of 21 years of age
Attend a minimum of six hours of instruction and successfully
complete a written or oral test covering driver duties, bus operating
procedures, traffic and school bus laws and regulations, record
keeping, emergency and crash-related procedures, first aid, basic
appreciation of the developmental stages and needs of school-aged
children.
And,
Supervision on buses should focus on ensuring that passengers stay
seated, use seat belts when available and keep arms and heads inside
windows.
Following are some safety tips to teach your child if they will be
riding the school bus this school year.
Avoid the driver’s blind spots: Walk five giant steps in front of
the bus and three giant steps from the side. Never walk behind the bus.
If you drop something near the bus, don’t pick it up until you tell
the bus driver so he’ll be looking for you.
Make sure there’s nothing sticking out of you or your backpack that
could get caught on the handrail or the door. This includes items of
clothing with loose drawstrings. This could cause you to fall.
Wait until the bus comes to a complete stop before attempting to
get on an off the bus.
“The driver’s job is to get our children safely to school. If
parents insist on driver training and testing, that will go a long way
to make the trip to and from school a safe one,” Dr. Dowd says.
