EDITORS NOTE: Advanced Career Institute has discontinued our School Bus Driving Program. We still offer our Commercial Bus Driver Program at select campuses.
October 15th – 19th is National School Bus Safety Week. Considering that over 25 million children ride a school bus to and from school each day, this is a great time for everyone to be on the same page far as safety goes. Participants include parents, children, teachers, administrators, bus drivers, and school officials to come together to reinforce the basics of taking school bus safety seriously. Anyone else interested in partnering with their local schools to emphasize bus safety is also encouraged to join in.
For 2018 the week’s theme is “My Driver – My Safety Hero!” This is meant to commemorate the bus drivers who take safety precautions each day to help keep the children they drive to and from school as safe as possible. From enforcing safety walking to the bus stop to boarding, and exiting bus drivers are an important aspect in keeping students safe. This week seeks to give families way they can work with their children to help them abide by their bus driver’s rules of conduct to keep them and their driver safe while on the road.
What Are Some Ways to Help Keep My Child Safe on the School Bus?
There are simple tasks that can be done to keep children safe while on their school buses each day. Many of them only take a moment and a little bit of thought to help keep children safe. The following are a few great tips to keep your child as safe as possible while using the school bus:
- Keep every item in your child’s backpack while entering and exiting the bus. Carrying loose items creates unneeded distractions.
- Leave plenty of time to get to the bus stop so you are not running to chase or catch the bus.
- If children are young, walk them to the bus stop in groups with several adults monitoring the group. This ensures that young children are safe and do not end up running out on the street or into danger by mistake.
- Walk in crosswalks, not next to, near, or around them.
- Always have children notify the driver if they drop or lose an item while entering or exiting the school bus. Stopping to try to pick the item up can be a very risky behavior.
- Emphasize the importance of staying seated at all times when the bus is in transit.
- Keep noise levels appropriate as to not provide unnecessary distractions for the driver while they are operating the vehicle.
These are just a few tips to remind your children while they are on the school bus. School buses can be a wonderful way to help children get to and from school safely, but they need to be used correctly.
For more information on school bus safety or how you can make a difference by becoming a school bus driver, contact Advanced Career Institute. ACI provides Class B CDL training to help prepare you to become a bus driver!
