Bus Safety Tips for Parents and Students

To help ensure our students arrive to and from school safely each day please take note of the following school bus safety tips:

• Be sure your child arrives at their bus stop 5 minutes before the bus is scheduled to arrive.
• When the bus approaches, remind your child to stand at least 5 giant steps away from the curb and line up away from the bus.
• Never run after the school bus if it has already left the bus stop.
• Never run in front or behind the school bus to pick up something that your child dropped or forgot.
• Make sure you tell your child never to get on the bus until it has completely stopped.
• After the bus stops and the door opens, take firm hold of the handrail and get onto the bus.
• Never push another student while getting on or off the bus.
• All students riding the bus should go directly to a seat and sit quietly. This allows the bus driver to concentrate on driving safely.
• Students should never place any part of their body through the bus window.

When outside of the bus, make sure your child is aware of the danger zones and is always within sight of the bus driver. The Danger Zone is a 10-foot wide area on all sides of a school bus -- an area where children are in the most danger of being hit. Children should be taught to stay 10 feet away from a school bus (or as far away as they can) and never go behind it. They should be told to take five giant steps in front of the bus before crossing so the driver can see them.

School Bus Safety Tips for Drivers
Please review the following bus safety reminders for all motorists and share them with a neighbor or friend:

• Never pass on the right side of a school bus where children enter or exit. This is illegal and can have tragic results.
• Yellow flashing lights mean the bus is preparing to stop and load or unload children. Motorists need to slow down and prepare to stop.
• Red flashing lights and an extended stop arm mean the bus has stopped and children are boarding or exiting the bus. Motorists must come to a complete stop a safe distance from the bus and wait until the red lights stop flashing, the stop arm is retracted, and the bus begins moving before they start driving again.