September 1, 2011
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School Bus Safety
Things Parents Should know About School Bus Safety:
• School buses are the safest form of highway transportation.
• The most dangerous part of the school bus ride is getting on and off the bus.
• Pedestrian fatalities (while loading and unloading school buses) account for approximately three times as many school bus-related fatalities, when compared to school bus occupant fatalities.
• The loading and unloading area is called the “Danger Zone”
• The “Danger Zone” is the area on all sides of the bus where children are in the most danger of not being seen by the driver (ten feet in front of the bus where the driver may be too high to see a child, ten feet on either side of the
bus where a child may be in the driver’s blind spot, and the area behind the bus).
• Half of the pedestrian fatalities in school bus-related crashes are children between 5 and 7 years old.
• Young children are most likely to be struck because they:
• Hurry to get on and off the bus
• Act before they think and have little experience with traffic
• Assume motorists will see them and will wait for them to cross the street
• Don’t always stay within the bus driver’s sightAny motorist knows that a yellow traffic light means prepare to stop if possible and red light mean stop.
School bus warning lights mean the same thing. Flashing yellow lights mean CAUTION, the bus is preparing to stop. Flashing red lights mean STOP, school children are boarding or leaving the school bus.One thing that makes me really really mad as a parent is when people keep driving when the bus is stopped and the sign is out and flashing red. STOP!!!!! It is the law. Plus wherever you are going it is NOT that important that it is worth HITTING and KILLING a CHILD.
OBEY THE STOP ARM!!!!!
Tips for drivers
* Abide by 20 mph school zones. Driving just 5 mph faster increases both the risk of hitting a child and the severity of related injuries.* Motorists must stop for a school bus any time it has stopped to load or unload students, red warning lights flashing.
* All school buses stop at railroad crossings.
Please Obey The Law. STOP WHEN THE BUS STOPS. It could save a child’s life.
Comments (4)
Good reminders!
You know, I never really rode the school bus in school except to go on field trips.
But every time I got on I’d look down at the seat and be like “Shouldn’t there be seat belts?” I still feel that way getting on public transport.
I know the buses stopping for a few dawdling kids is really even infuriating early in the morning when you could be running late, need to pick up a coffee, etc, but that child’s life could be ended in a second if you don’t stop and an accident occurs. Your god damn morning coffee is not more important than a child’s life.
That being said, PARENTS, educate your CHILDREN on ***NOT*** running out into the road for ANY reason, for a bus, for a basketball, for an animal. Teach them from a very young age to ONLY CROSS THE STREET WHILE HOLDING YOUR HAND. Everyone can do their part in preventing unnecessary tragedies.
I remember when me and my siblings were younger we’d play a game where we’d wait in the bushes for the school buses to pass and when they got close enough we’d run out. It was sorta like a game of chicken because we tried to get as close to getting hit as possible and whoever was closest to the buses path “won”.
How I ever made it to legal adulthood, I don’t know.
I think a lot of importance lands on teaching your kids common sense and the rules of the road. As much as I’d like to say that speedy adults are the reason for these accidents my personal experience tells me otherwise. I think a good 80% of accidents like these started with a kid who ran out onto a busy road or something related where the driver could do nothing but try to stop.