My daughter first rode the bus to school about half way through her first grade year. After several months of her begging to ride, we swallowed our first time parent fears and allowed her to joyfully experience her first trip on the big yellow bus. She was excited to test her new freedom and we found out how much easier our mornings would become without the hassle of the school drop off.
Our son recently had his first day of Kindergarten. And yes, you guessed it, we had no such fears about him taking the bus on his first day. After years of watching his sister hop on and off the bus, he was eagerly awaiting his chance to follow her up the steps and into the mysterious flashing yellow vehicle.
The sacred rite of passage for children in the US of riding the bus to and from school has become one of the safest modes of transportation in the world. Modern technology, well trained drivers and well prepared parents are all big parts of why this mode of transportation is and will remain extremely safe.
Resources abound for keeping students safe. If you are a parent of a school age child, a bus driver or a fleet manager, the following resources can help you do your part in the safe operation of our schools’ transportation systems.
Resource #1 - schoolbusfacts.com
The site, built in cooperation with National Highway Traffic Safety Association (NHTSA) and the American School Bus Council (ASBC) is a wealth of information.
According to the site’s statistics, it is incredibly important for parents to teach their children safe procedures for approaching, entering and exiting the school bus. My wife and I always walk our children to the bus (much to their chagrin) and make sure that passing traffic is safe and that the bus is completely stopped before they leave the sidewalk.
From schoolbusfacts.com:
- Passing vehicles cause ⅔ of student unloading and loading fatalities
- ⅓ of children killed outside the school bus are between the ages of 5-7
- Nearly two-thirds of school bus related fatalities occur outside the bus
The site is full of useful information and tips on keeping students safe. We highly recommend visiting this site often.
Resource #2 - The National Safety Council
According to the NSC, school buses transport 25 million students to and from school each day which eliminates the need for 17 million cars to approach our nation’s schools. An argument could certainly be made that one of the biggest advantages of our collective student transportation system is the reduction in potential accidents associated with the reduced traffic around our schools. The site goes on to discuss safety tips for entering, riding and exiting the school bus.
At Onspot, we work each and every day to build, develop and sell products that help those in the Pupil Transportation services ensure student commutes are safe. Check out our post “Keeping students safe: 5 modern school bus technologies to consider for your fleet” to learn more about how industry partners are developing products to help ensure student safety.
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