ORLANDO, Fla. — More than 25 million children ride the bus every school day, according to the National Association for Pupil Transport.
This week — National School Bus Safety Week — serves as a reminder for students, parents, teachers and the community to keep school bus safety at the front of their minds.
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Here are nine tips from NAPT on how to keep children safe at the bus stop:
1. Have your children put everything they carry in a backpack or school bag so that they won’t drop things along the way.
2. Encourage children to wear bright, contrasting colors so they will be more easily seen by drivers.
3. Make sure children leave home on time so they can arrive at the bus stop before the bus is due, ideally at least five minutes early. Running after or in front of a bus is dangerous.
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4. Walk young children to the bus stop or encourage children to walk in groups. There is safety in numbers; groups are easier for drivers to see.
5. Practice good pedestrian behavior: walk on the sidewalk, and if there is no sidewalk, stay out of the street. If you must walk in the street, walk single file, face traffic and stay as close to the edge of the road as you can.
6. Stop and look left, right and then left again if you must cross the street. Do the same thing at driveways and alleys. Exaggerate your head turns and narrate your actions so your child knows you are looking left, right and left.
7. Warn children that if they drop something getting on and off the bus, they should never pick it up. Instead, they should tell the driver and follow the driver’s instructions.
8. Remind children to look to the right before they step off the bus.
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9. If you meet your child at the bus stop after school, wait on the side where the child will be dropped off, not across the street. Children can be so excited to see you after school that they might dash across the street and forget safety rules.
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