Each year, the Allen County School District takes part in National School Bus Safety Week activities---a week in which students across the district are reminded about staying safe before, during, and after riding busses to and from school. Local attention this year focused on improving safety at the bus stop.
“We are reminding students about things like standing back from the road at the bus stop, watching for a bus driver’s signal to cross and looking both ways when crossing in front of the bus,” explained Wendell Spears, transportation director for the Allen County School District. “Repetition brings forth retention so anything we can say or do, we’ll do to emphasis safety.”
This year, a renewed area of emphasis during National School Bus Safety Week was the afternoon bus stop---and the procedure for the school bus driver to unload a young student at a stop.
“The policy of our school district is not to let any Primary Center student off at a stop unless a parent or guardian is there to receive the child,” Spears said. “I can not emphasize enough how important that is. The adult can be beside the road, in their front yard, or on the porch. They can even be standing in their front door. That way we know that child is safe. We know that a parent or guardian is there with the child. We do let the young children off if an older sibling is getting off with them. But, if it’s just a Primary Center child or children at a bus stop, we need a parent or guardian there to meet them.”
Spears points out that the parent or guardian can be assured of a consistent drop-off time---a time that seldom changes.
“Under normal operations, our busses will be at the child’s home within a three minute window,” Spears pointed out. “The safest and best thing to do is for the parent or guardian to be there.”
If a bus driver has a Primary Center student on the bus and no parent or guardian is visible, the driver will follow a step-by-step procedure for connecting the child with a parent or guardian.
“The bus driver will radio the school and the school will make an attempt to call the parent,” Spears added. “If no one is at the house, the child is brought back to the school if the driver is coming back to the bus compound.”
If the bus driver typically takes his bus home---as is the case with many of Allen County’s 40 drivers----plans are made for the child to be connected with a parent or guardian at a rendezvous point later in the route. If no connection with the parent or guardian can be made, the child is transported by a pair of school officials back to the Primary Center until the parent or guardian is available to pick up their child.
Spears reminds parents or guardians who are usually home to receive the child that if an unforeseen last-minute circumstance arrives on their end to takes a few steps to alert the school district to that fact. The first step would be to notify the school of the situation.
“That happens every day,” Spears noted. “Also, if a parent or guardian finds themselves running late, then call a neighbor or someone in the family and ask them to be at the bus stop. That happens every day. Mom or dad is out and can get back home so they call someone to meet the child at the bus stop. That way the child is on the same bus and going to the same place and you still have someone there to take the child off the bus.”
This procedure and policy for Allen County Primary Center students provides safety for the child and reassurance to the parents. In Allen County, it’s a policy designed to provide as much safety for the young child as possible.
“Some school districts only have this policy for kindergarten students,” Spears said. “We are not going to just do that. We are going to take care of the children as best we can but we need the help of all our parents and guardians.”
If a parent or guardian of any bus-riding student in the district knows in advance that he or she will not be home and needs the child to ride a different bus or remain at school for a pick-up, the parent or guardian must call the child’s school by 1:30. Office workers will notify the child’s teacher (younger students) or the student (older students) of the change and pass along a bus note for the driver. Spears does remind parents that the least amount of change is best noting that a consistent schedule works better for all parties involved.
In addition to afternoon safety, Spears asks parents to remind their children to be attentive to their surroundings when getting on and off the bus as well as following all rules while riding the bus.
“We encourage parents to remind kids to be very careful at the bus stop,” Spears said. “We also encourage parents to talk to their kids about making sure they observe all safety and conduct rules which have been established for the safe and efficient operation of the school bus. Bus rules are posted on each bus for everyone to see. Failure to follow the rules leads to distractions and the fewer the distractions, the safer the bus ride.”
Every week is a time for motorists to remember to be very attentive to school buses and children as the buses load and unload. In Allen County, school buses are on the road between 5:30 and 7:30 a.m. and 3 and 5 p.m. transporting between 1,500 and 2,000 students each school day.
“The most dangerous time for students is while they are loading and unloading the bus,” Spears added. “Everyone in the community can help by watching for buses that are loading or unloading. When you see amber lights flashing, the bus is preparing to stop. When you see red lights flashing and the stop arm out, the bus is loading or unloading. Never pass a bus even in a parking lot.”
Parents and guardians are not the only group be reminded of school bus safety. In recent weeks, Spears has met with the drivers in the district to review all safety procedures for transporting students. One change has come as a result. No longer will drivers be allowing students to check their mail boxes before crossing the street. Children exiting the bus must go directly across the road or into their yards.
The review of safety procedures stems from a fatal accident involving a school bus and a five-year old child in Butler County earlier in the school year. The investigation into the tragic accident is ongoing but the accident is already leading to school officials across the state to revisit safety procedures and continue to look at ways to improve transporting kids.
Going hand-in-hand with school bus safety week is a time to show appreciation for the bus drivers---drivers who transport Allen County school children between 450,000 and 500,000 miles each year.
“Our drivers are a very dedicated group of men and women,” Spears said. “It takes a special person to be a school bus driver. Generally, each school does something during the week for the drivers. Also, parents often give their child’s driver a card, gift certificate, home-baked cookies or a small token of appreciation. That always makes the bus driver feel good.”
Bus drivers cover 40 routes each school day with the average bus route being 56 miles round trip morning and afternoon. In addition, Allen County buses travel between 50,000 and 75,000 miles transporting students to academic and extra-curricular activities.