Bus Safety for Parents and Kids #BTS

Bus safety is something both parents and children need to be cognizant of. As we get back in to the school year, there will be lots of bus trips. Many of our kids will take the bus to and from school every day. There will be field trips. There will be parental chaperones on those trips. That’s why it’s important for both kids and parents to recognize how important bus safety is.

Bus Safety Tips for Both Parents and Their Children

As a parent, bus safety concerns me. Buses are gigantic, massive vehicles and they transport children every day. It’s really something that most people should respect more. I mean, on a daily basis, our kids are taken to and from their homes in these gigantic vehicles with one person essentially in charge. We have been blessed with the best bus driver any parents could ask for. It’s not the driver that worries me ever – in fact it’s the other drivers on the road and even student behaviour sometimes.

I’m not trying to be an excessive worrier or freak anyone out. I’m just giving everyone a reference to WHY I think safety on the bus is so important for children as well as parents. As a mom who’s chaperoned a few trips, I know that adults can forget bus safety as much as kids can. Pretty much everyone can help make the bus a safer space for children and for the driver too. So let’s take a look at how we and our children can make the bus a more safe place.

No Distractions

Bus drivers have our children’s lives in their hands, so they need to be able to pay complete attention to the road. A bus driver should not have to deal with any distractions whatsoever. So it’s important for both children and their parents to do a few things. In general, people on a bus should conduct themselves as they would if they were in a classroom.

• Stay seated
• Don’t talk to the bus driver
• Keep the noise to a minimum

Know All Important Safety Information

In the event of an accident or some other trouble, it’s important for both children and parents to know where the emergency exits are. Most buses have hatches on the ceiling. Some have certain windows which also serve as emergency exits. Both of these are in addition to the emergency exit at the back of the bus. It’s also important for children to know who their bus safety buddy is. So:

• Know the safety exits and follow emergency procedure
• Children should know who their bus safety buddy is and stay seated with them on bus rides, or follow the procedure as dictated at school early in the year.

Never Cross Until All Signals are Active

This one is so, so big. Children should always wait until the bus has completely extended its stop sign and protective distance rail which keeps children in sight of the bus driver. Rushing a crossing puts children at risk of being hit by a car or run over by the bus driver who thought the child had finished crossing. These things can and do happen. I have seen way too many drivers racing to get to work or wherever disregard the stop sign on the bus and race past. That’s incredibly dangerous and should NEVER happen.

Bus Safety

Bus safety is so important. It’s also something we rarely think about for some reason. For some reason, when a group of kids – and parents, for that matter – get on a school bus, it turns in to a party. But if you step back and think for a few seconds, you’ll realize that it’s really no way to conduct ourselves. Take a few minutes before school starts and repeat the rules throughout September so your child knows what to expect and how to behave.

Buses are large, heavy machines, carrying vulnerable cargo – our kids. So let’s all remember how important bus safety is. I know I try my best to remember to be a good passenger and a good driver when I spy a bus on the road.