School Bus Safety Tips

SCHOOL BUS SAFETY TIPS

GENERAL INFORMATION

Bus transportation – the safest form of transportation – is provided for King George County Public Schools’ students to and from school.

As required by the Commonwealth of Virginia, every bus driver attends special school training before transporting any of our students.  The training consists of a minimum of 24 hours in the classroom and 24 hours behind the wheel.  In total, every bus driver – including substitutes – spends at least 3 weeks to one month training to be a school bus driver.   King George County school division’s training exceeds the state’s requirements.

Parents are encourage to read the Student and Family Handbook as it clearly outlines the conduct for all students while riding a school bus.  To ensure the safety of our students, parents should consider sharing “watch” responsibilities with a neighbor so your children have an adult overseeing safety at their bus stops.  Parents are encouraged to remind their children of acceptable behavior on a school bus.

SCHOOL BUS SAFETY TIPS FOR STUDENTS

As a parent, you can help ensure our students arrive to and from school safely each day by practicing the following school 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 (ten feet) away from the curb and line up away from the bus.

  • Children should be taught never to run after the school bus if it has already left the bus stop.

  • Children should never run in front or behind the school bus to pick up something that he or she dropped or forgot.

  • After the bus stops and the door opens, remind your child to take a firm hold of the handrail when getting on and off the bus.

  • Never push another student while getting on or off the bus.

  • All students riding the bus should go directly to their assigned seat and sit quietly.This allows the bus driver to concentrate on driving safely.

  • Students should never place any part of their body out of the bus window.

  • For students of the ages 5 to 9 years old and have no waiver, and their parent/guardian is not at the stop in the afternoon, the child/children will be returned to school.

  • 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.

ROAD SAFETY TIPS FOR DRIVERS

As the parent of a student, please review the following 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.

  • Watch out for children who may be thinking about getting to school, but may not be thinking about getting there safely.

  • Slow down. Watch for children playing and gathering near bus stops.

  • Be alert. Children arriving late for the bus may dart into the street without looking for traffic.

 

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