A GOOD RIDE IS A SAFE RIDE (SCHOOL BUS SAFETY) Bailey Johnston November 30, 2015

Are school busses safe? ◦The issue of school bus safety has been around since school busses have been used. ◦The controversy is that you have to wear a seat belt in a car but if you put thirty children on a bus you no longer need seat belts.. I can see where this would stir up a problem for most parents. ◦Some people worry that maybe school busses aren’t the safest form of transportation for their children but research shows that that is not the case. ◦ While school busses may not be he ideal transportation for small children there are some things we can do to make school busses safer.

The Do’s and Don'ts of Riding a School Bus Children Should ◦Sit on their bottom facing the front of the bus ◦Talk in their inside voice ◦Stay seated until the bus comes to a stop ◦Never eat or drink on the bus ◦Only sit two children to a seat Children Shouldn’t ◦Stand in the seats or sit facing the back of the bus ◦Yell, scream, or be unnecessarily loud ◦Stand in the isle while the bus is in motion ◦Eat or drink causing a mess ◦Sit with more than two child in a seat

Is your child safe on a school bus? YES! ◦School busses are significantly larger than all other passenger vehicles making them safer is accidents ◦They have flashing red lights warning other vehicles when they are stopping ◦They have an arm with a stop sigh facing both ways so that vehicles in both lanes of traffic know when they stop ◦They have cross-view mirrors so the drivers are able to see all of their surroundings ◦They are brightly colored yellow and they have reflective strips so that they can easily be seen during the day and at night ◦They have reinforced sides to prevent injury and damage if there was to be an accident

Who’s driving our school busses? Schools hire well trained and screened school bus drivers. These drivers are… ◦Trained in student behavior management ◦To participate in pre-employment and random drug and alcohol testing ◦Subject to frequent driving record checks ◦Trained in loading and unloading children onto and from the school bus ◦Trained in security procedures ◦Trained in emergency medical procedures

Student fatalities during normal school traveling hours. There were 58% percent by teen drivers, 23% by adult drivers, 18% by other causes, and 1% by bus drivers.

The Big Seat Belt Controversy There has always been a large debate on whether seat belts should be required to be in all school busses or not. While I can see that parents of young children would think that school busses need to be equip with seat belts that is not necessarily true. School busses are made with their own safety features just like all cars they are just not the same as other cars. Large school busses are heavier and distribute crash forces differently than other vehicles. The NHTSA decided that the best way to provide crash protection to passengers of school busses is through something called “compartmentalization.” This means that school busses must have strong, closely-spaced seats that have energy-absorbing seat backs. These safety features may not sound so safe but the NHTSA has done research and has proven that this is a good safety feature to keep children safe on the school bus.

How to know your bus ◦Each bus is categorized by color and then subcategorized by an animal. ◦The colors indicate which bus load you will be heading out on, for example purple is first, blue is second, and green is third ◦Then each bus is labeled with a specific animal, for example elephant, panda, and kangaroo ◦Just incase the children were unable to remember their colored animal there would be a chart for them to look at if the forgot. This is an example of the bus chart. NameBus LoadBus BaileyPurpleElephant BrettGreenDeer CraigBluePanda MollyPurplePig

Pick Up and Drop Off Routines Pick Up ◦Students should be waiting at the end of their driveway but not close to the road ◦Students should be paying attention and watching for the bus so not to delay the route ◦When getting on the bus students are to walk directly to their assigned seat and sit down ◦Before boarding the bus the students must wait for it to come to a complete stop and for the bus driver to extend the stop sign Drop Off ◦Students need to be paying attention so they are ready when the bus gets close to their stop ◦Students are to remain seated until the bus comes to a complete stop ◦Students is to walk off of the bus not run or jump ◦We prefer that there be a parent waiting for the child, however, if this is not possible the child needs to go directly into the house

Consequences for bad behavior on the bus ◦Depending on the severity of the bad behavior consequences could be as follows- First Offense- verbal warning Second Offense- moved to sit beside the bus driver Third Offense- note to teacher to have card changed Fourth Offense-a letter will be sent home to the parent and the student will be sent to the office Fifth Offense- the student will no longer be allowed to ride the bus

Emergency Procedures In the case of emergency we will have a set procedure to follow. We will also practice these procedures a few times throughout the year. ◦Stay calm and if possible stay seated until further instruction is given ◦Stay quiet so you are able to hear the bus drivers instructions ◦If we have to evacuate the bus do so by rows starting from the back in a calm and orderly manner. ◦Once off the bus ALL students are to sit in their assigned bus seating order to make sure all students are accounted for.

NHTSA.GOV- References