Bus stop safety: What you need to know before they go

  • By Shelly Webb
  • August 24, 2010
  • 308
                        
As we begin another school year it’s important to remember all the do’s and don’ts when it comes to school bus safety. It’s even more important to remind students about bus rules and proper behavior while on the school bus. Bus driver’s work extremely hard every day to make sure you’re child is safely delivered to and from school. If you take the time to go over bus safety with your children it will make their job a little easier. Ed Dye, transportation supervisor for West Holmes Local School District, took the time to go over some important bus safety information. First on his list, however, has to do with adult behavior, not students. “Drivers need to pay attention when the buses are on the roads,” Dye explained. “Watch for the red lights when the bus is stopping to board and let off students. Make sure you never cut around or pass a stopped school bus. If you do you will receive a large fine and you could actually lose your driver’s license. We put our students’ safety first and we need the community and those driving on the roads and streets to remember to do this as well.” Dye said it’s also important for students to listen and follow the rules. Students are never to walk behind the bus and they are never to cross the street to get on or off the bus unless they are signaled first by the bus driver. “We go through all these rules during our training day once school starts,” Dye said. “We take time to go over these procedures with our students and we also go through all the evacuation procedures. We explain proper crossing and loading of the bus and talk about different danger zones. There is also a nice video that goes along with our training that the students watch prior to our presentation.” Dye is very proud of local bus drivers. He says they are constantly updated on all training and even attend sessions with state highway patrolmen in attendance to go over many topics. “Driving a school bus is a very important job,” Dye said. “Our drivers are well-trained and are constantly being updated.” Regardless of how well a driver is trained if they are distracted it can spell trouble. Parents are encouraged to talk with their children regarding bus behavior and the importance of sitting quietly and not distracting the bus driver. It only takes a moment of chaos to change someone’s life forever. Explain to your child to stay in their seat on the bus, speak quietly and never start a fight or horseplay when riding the school bus. Situations like these can cause accidents and injuries. Another consideration to make where school transportation is concerned is weather conditions. According to Dye, the district takes great care in deciding the conditions of roads during winter weather. Parents are asked to listen to local radio stations WKLM 95.3 Millersburg, WQKT 104.5 Wooster or WTNS 99.3 Coshocton for delays and closings. “If the roads are bad we oftentimes will have a two-hour delay,” Dye explained. “If things get worse or fail to improve then we may cancel classes for the day. We get that news out pretty early. We usually make the decision about 5:30 a.m. and then it’s on the radio stations first thing. We also put the delays or closing on the Cleveland television stations.” Sometimes the roads may be passable or good for an experienced bus driver, however, a 16-year-old student may still have problems. Dye encourages parents of teenage drivers to pay attention to weather and road conditions. If a parent has any doubt at all they should think twice about allowing their high school student to drive on a winter day. As “un-cool” as it may be to ride the school bus when you’re a junior or senior, it’s much better than being involved in an accident. “Winter weather can be tricky,” Dye said. “We spend a lot of time checking roads and making the decision as to whether we close, stay open as usual or do a two-hour delay. Just because we feel the bus drivers are capable of operating safely doesn’t mean the conditions may be okay for a new driver. Driving in snow or driving when there may be some icy patches requires some experience on the part of the driver. Parents really need to explain that to their teenagers and the bus just might be the safest option sometimes.” Using common sense when it comes to school bus safety and transportation is important. Parents need to talk to their children about the rules, paying attention when crossing and taking the bus during bad weather. School officials put the safety of their students as the number one priority above everything else. We can all make their jobs a little easier if we, too, consider safety when it comes to transporting local students to and from school. Enjoy a new school year…but enjoy it safely!


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