New Mexico School Bus Safety Program

Where Safety Comes First!

National School Bus Safety Week

This year’s theme, Stop on Red, Kids Ahead, emphasizes the importance for drivers to follow the rules of the road and stop when the red lights flash and children are getting on and off the bus. As part of this year’s theme, the ASBC has developed a number of education materials to help school districts, teacher and parents better educate students riding the bus, including a School Bus Safety Quiz, Helpful Hints and online resources.

“Every year the school bus industry comes together to celebrate School Bus Safety Week and to ensure that the public is aware of the safety benefits of school bus transportation,” said Mike Martin, Executive Director of the National Association for Pupil Transportation and member of the ASBC. “Each day children ride school buses to and from school. Our job is to ensure that they get to school safe and sound on each and every ride.”

For years, school buses have provided free access to an education for millions of children in America through healthy, safe and secure transportation to schools. Every day, more than 480,000 school buses deliver 26 million students to school safely and reliably, so they arrive at school ready to learn. All told, school buses provide over 10 billion passenger trips each year. In turn, school buses offer solutions to four key pressing issues facing our country:

Safety: School buses are the safest form of transportation for students – and many times safer than riding in the family car.

Traffic: Every child riding a school bus represents one fewer car on the road, especially in the congested area in and around schools, where children are at highest risk.

Fuel Consumption: The ASBC estimates that school bus transportation saves Americans more than $8 billion a year on fuel costs.

Environment: Students riding in the school bus instead of the family car means fewer car trips and less pollution.

 

About School Bus Safety Week

School Bus Safety Week is a voluntary, nationwide effort to remind students, parents and the motoring public about the policies, procedures and people that make school buses the safest form of ground transportation in America. National School Bus Safety Week is also an excellent opportunity for local communities to acknowledge the hard work and dedication of school transportation professionals, especially the school bus drivers, who ensure a safe ride for the 25 million children that use a yellow school bus to travel to and from school day every school day. For more information about School Bus Safety Week please visit www.napt.org.

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.

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

· 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.

· Check both ways for cars before stepping off the bus.

 

 

Crossing students should:

 

· Walk in front of the bus; never walk behind the bus.

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

· Be sure the bus driver can see them, and they can see the bus driver.

· Wait for the driver’s signal to cross.

 

 

Things Kids Should know About School Bus Safety:

 

· 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!

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

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

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

· Be alert to traffic. When you get on or off the bus, look left, right, left before you enter or cross the street.

· When the driver says it is safe to cross the street, remember to CROSS IN FRONT of the bus.

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

· Some school buses now have seat belts. If you have seat belts on your school bus, be sure to learn to use the seat belt correctly.

 

 

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 sight