Saturday, August 17, 2013

Back To School Safety Tips

With our kids headed back to school, it’s important to review some safety tips to help keep everyone safe!  School buses are one of the safest forms of transportation on the road today. In fact, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, riding a bus to school is 13 times safer than riding in a passenger vehicle and 10 times safer than walking to school.

The Better Business Bureau and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration offer the following tips:
·         All 50 states have a law making it illegal to pass a school bus that is stopped to load or unload children.
·         School buses use yellow flashing lights to alert motorists that they are preparing to stop to load or unload children. Red flashing lights and an extended stop
sign arm signals to motorists that the bus is stopped and children are getting on or off the bus.
·         All 50 states require that traffic in both directions stop on undivided roadways when students are entering or exiting a school bus.
·         While state laws vary on what is required on a divided roadway, in all cases, traffic behind the school bus (traveling in the same direction) must stop.
·         The area 10 feet around a school bus is where children are in the most danger of being hit. Stop your car far enough from the bus to allow children the necessary space to safely enter and exit the bus.
·         Be alert. Children are unpredictable. Children walking to or from their bus are usually very comfortable with their surroundings. This makes them more likely to take risks, ignore hazards or fail to look both ways when crossing the street.
·         Never pass a school bus on the right. It is illegal and could have tragic consequences.

Let’s all be careful out there and help keep the kids safe!

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