School bus safety and your child

By Tom Demry – Interim Centerville Police Chief

Now that our children have settled into another school year I felt that this would be a good time for a reminder of school bus safety for all of us. Trooper Bob Conrad of the Iowa State Patrol recently provided the article below. I hope you find it as informative as I did.

If you are a parent, like myself, that sends your child off to school on a school bus, you have probably had one of those moments where you ask yourself, “Is my child really safe on that bus?” As parents, we would never dream of placing our children into the hands of a perfect stranger and asking them to take our children to school on a route we don’t even know. However, that is what we do every time we put our children on a bus en route to their school. How many of you know the name of your bus driver? Do you know the route your child takes to school? There are a lot of questions that come to mind when we talk about the safety of our children on a bus.

First, don’t be afraid to talk to the school bus driver. Introduce yourself; let them know they can also talk to you if any problems or concerns arise. Every school district has a transportation director that is in charge of the school bus fleet. If there are some safety issues or items that cannot be handled with the bus driver, talking to the transportation director would be your next option. It is our job as parents, adults, and concerned citizens to not let safety concerns go unnoticed.

Secondly, the school buses in the State of Iowa undergo a bi-annual inspection by the Department of Education. The Iowa State Patrol also assists in the inspection process. The purpose of this inspection is to check for equipment violations and assure that the buses transporting our children are safe and secure. Inspectors are checking lights, alarms, seats and all of the major components that make-up a bus. As inspectors, our hope is to find no problems with the bus. If certain non-essential items are found in disrepair, the school may be required to fix the issue within 30 days. Other more pressing safety issues that are discovered through the course of an inspection might require the bus be immediately put out of service. This means the bus cannot be used for the transportation of students, under any conditions, until the problem is repaired or replaced. When repairs are made, they are reported to the Department of Education Bus Inspection Division and the bus is released back into service.

Some people will ask, “Why are these inspections so important?” Or, “Does that issue really affect a child’s safety?” I will tell you that one of the most difficult things I deal with, in the line of duty, is the serious injury or the lost life of a child. What takes the cake is when it could have been prevented. When we take the attitude that mechanical or other deficiencies are acceptable, we set not only ourselves up for failure, but also our children.

Beyond the safety of the bus, there are topics we must talk to our children about. Almost every child will ride on a bus at one time or another, so we need to talk to our children about what we expect from them. Your child’s behavior both inside and outside the bus greatly impacts their safety and the safety of others.

When your child or children are waiting for the school bus, they should wait at the bus stop and stand back away from the road. Remind them that in most cases there is traffic going by them.

Your school district probably has a school bus behavior policy. Your bus driver’s number one interest is your child’s safety. He or she will ask your child to be on his or her best behavior. When on the bus instruct your child to:

•Listen to the bus driver in case there are any special instructions for the bus ride.

•Sit quietly in the seat.

•Speak quietly to the other children.

Advise your child that they should never jump up and down, fight or tease other passengers or make a lot of noise. These activities can bother the bus driver and the driver will not be able to give proper attention to driving. In fact, these behaviors can bother any driver, including family members or friends and make it difficult to drive safely. Practicing these good behaviors in the family car will help ensure good behaviors on the school bus!

When your child gets off the bus, remind them to:

•Look to the rear of the school bus before they step off the bottom step. Our friends at the Pupil Transportation Safety Institute tell us that more and more motorists are passing stopped school buses on the right shoulder – where the door is.

•Take five giant steps straight out the bus door and out of the danger zone.

•Make sure you have eye contact with the driver and wait for the driver to signal you before you cross in front of the bus.

•Never go back for anything you have left on the bus.

•Never bend down near or under the bus.

If we follow the guidelines mentioned in Trooper Conrad’s article I have no doubtthis will be a safe year on our school buses. If you would like more information on safety issues for your children please contact me or any of the officers with the Centerville Police Department we will be glad to assist you.