School Bus Safety Week

National School Bus Safety Week has been designated as the third week in October (October 19-23). To promote this public awareness campaign, the Fond du Lac School District in conjunction with Johnson School Bus would like to provide parents and their children riding school buses with a list of school bus safety tips. It is hoped that they will serve as helpful reminders of rules to follow whenever riding or crossing in front of a bus.

 

Students Riding a School Bus Should Always…

• Arrive at the bus stop five minutes early.

• Stand at least 5 giant steps (10 feet) away from the edge of the road. The bus driver and others cannot see you if you are standing closer than 10 feet to the bus. Stay out of the danger zone!

• Wait until the bus stops, the door opens, and the driver says it’s okay before stepping onto the bus.

• Stay in your seat and sit quietly so that the driver is not distracted.

• Be careful that clothing with drawstrings and book bags with straps or dangling objects do not get caught in the handrail or door when exiting the bus.

• Before stepping off the bus, be alert to traffic. When you get on or off the bus, look left, right, left before you enter or cross the street.

 

Crossing Students should…

• Cross when the driver says it is safe to cross, walk in front of the bus, and never walk behind the bus.

• Be sure the bus driver can see you, and you can see the bus driver.

• Walk on the sidewalk or along the side of the road to a point at least 10 giant steps ahead of the bus.

 

Do’s and Don’ts

• While waiting for the bus, stay in a safe place away from the street.

• If something falls under or near the bus, tell the driver. NEVER try to pick it up yourself!

• When you get on or off the bus, look for the bus safety lights and make sure they are flashing.

 

Marian Sheridan, School Healthy, Safety, Attendance and Transportation Coordinator shared, “The 54 Johnson School bus drivers are a much appreciated asset to the school district. The conscientious nature of these drivers contributes to the fact that school buses are the safest form of highway transportation. Thank you for safely transporting our students to and from school daily.”

 

It is also important to note that 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.

 

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 sight.

Remember that 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. The Danger Zone is 10 feet in front of the bus where the driver may be too high to see a child, 10 feet on either side of the bus where a child may be in the driver’s blind spot, and the area behind the bus.

 

Please review these tips and the other important information with your children.