School Bus

If you are putting your child on the school bus everyday, there are some important things you need to know and teach your child about school bus safety.

Many children are injured each year because of not being careful when getting on and off the school bus. Teach your children to always walk to the bus stop. They should use the sidewalk to walk to the bus, not walk down the middle of the street. Sometimes there is no sidewalk available. When this is the case, the child should walk on the left side of the road, facing the oncoming traffic. This will enable them to see if there are any cars coming and get out of the way.

One of the most common reasons for accidents involving the school bus is a child being late to the bus stop. The best way to avoid this problem is to have your children arrive five minutes early. This is not a tempting prospect when the weather is bad, but if the child is ready early, they will not be rushing to catch the bus.

Children also need to be taught to wait until the bus comes to a complete stop before getting out of their seat. This is a very important part or school bus safety. Especially when they are coming home, they are excited to be done with school, and often jump out of their seat when they see the stop approaching. This is dangerous!

If the driver has to stop quickly, they can be thrown off balance. Children should wait until the bus stops completely to get out of their seat and exit the bus. Children also need to cross in front of the bus and in front of the safety rail if they need to cross the street. This ensures that the bus driver sees them when they are exiting. By following these simple safety steps, you can help make sure your child makes it to and from school safely each day.