Bus Safety Tips for Kids

Heading back to school each year means your children should review bus safety tips so they are always prepared for any situation. While traveling by school bus is safe for America's youth many students are killed each year in school bus accidents. Amazingly, however, these deaths do not usually occur inside the school bus but rather as the children are entering or exiting the bus. This is cause for concern and necessitates the review of some simple bus safety tips.

Bus Safety Tip #1 Wait for the Bus to Stop Your children should understand how important it is to always wait for the bus to stop completely and the driver to signal the children to board the bus rather than running towards a moving bus. This can result in an accident, injury or even death, so make sure your kids know to stay put until the bus is fully stopped.

Bus Safety Tip #2 Wait in a Safe Place If you don't escort your children to the bus stop then they should know to wait at the bus stop and away from all traffic. They should not be playing at the bus stop or doing anything that might distract them from waiting for the bus.

Bus Safety Tip #3 Use the Handrails Backpacks are heavy and children are small, so when they place their foot on the first step of the bus without using the handrails it is very easy to lose their balance and fall backward. Because of this it is very important that your children know they should always use the hand rail when entering and exiting the school bus.

Bus Safety Tip #4 No Horseplay When you have a group of kids on the school bus nothing is more tempting than to play with other occupants. However, teach your child that playing on the bus can lead to injury and even a car accident because the bus driver can't pay attention to the road because of the distraction on the bus. This should help them understand how important it is to remain seated and quiet at all times.

Children should ride on the school bus quietly and calmly and checking homework or reading a book quietly are great school bus activities that will keep your child safe while on the bus. Following these other tips will also insure your child or children practice safety at all times when waiting for, entering or exiting the school bus