School Bus Safety

School Bus Safety
By Alex

Did you know that the school bus is one of the safest forms of School bus in the United States transportation today? A school bus is a large, painted vehicle that takes children to school and returns them to their homes in many countries throughout the world. In the United States and Canada, most school buses are painted yellow. School buses are also very common in the United Kingdom, but they are not widely used in Europe. A full sized school bus can seat forty five to seventy five or more students. Most buses are paid for by local school districts.

Here are some tips to help kids be safe around a bus:

Getting to the Bus Stop

You should get to the bus stop 5 minutes before the bus arrives.
DO NOT run across the road to catch the bus!
When crossing the street, always look left, right, and left again. Cars will come from the left first.
If there are no sidewalks where you are walking, walk on the side of the road where you are walking against traffic (you can see the cars coming towards you rather than coming from behind you).

Getting on the Bus

When the bus comes, step back at least THREE GIANT STEPS!
Before getting on, wait until the bus comes to a complete stop.
NEVER walk in front or on the side of the bus. In these places the driver might not be able to see you.
If you drop something by the bus, tell the bus driver that you're going to pick it up. Otherwise he/she might not know that you are there.
Get on when the door is open and the driver says you can get on.
When you get on the bus, take your seat quickly.

Riding on the Bus

When the bus is in motion ALWAYS stay in your seat.
Try to talk quiet on the bus. It's always hard to drive with 70 kids shouting and screaming!

Getting Off the Bus

When you are exiting the bus, use the handrail so you don't fall.
Make sure NOTHING from you (like backpack straps and things) are sticking out, because they could get caught in the bus door.
If you have to cross the street, make sure you walk a least FIVE GIANT STEPS in front of the bus so the driver can see you.

Even though the bus is the safest mode of transportation you still have to pitch in. Follow these guidelines and keep the bus safe!

Citations

Electronic Resources

"Before and After." Nhtsa. 21 February 2005 <http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/kids/bussafety/before/index.html>.

"School bus." Wikipedia. 30 March 2005. <http://en.wikipedia.org>.

Images

Photograph of school bus in the United States has been released into the public domain under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page>.

Copyrighted clip art images of bus stop and kids on school bus from "Microsoft Office Online" <http://office.microsoft.com/clipart/default.aspx?lc=en-us&cag=1> (October-March, 2004-2005). Clip art available only to licensed users for non-commercial purposes.