According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the school bus is one of the safest ways to transport students. The height, design and banding of a school bus are specifically made to handle an impact according to Bill Miener, Edwardsville School District 7’s point of contact for transportation and safety.
Even the seats are made with safety in mind, where the padding, height and distance create a containment apparatus that protects passengers in the event of an accident.
Despite the safety of a school bus, the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) reports that 33 school-age children die in school bus related traffic crashes each year. Of these, most are pedestrians ages five to seven who are injured while loading or unloading the bus.
District 7 transportation covers about 185 square miles with busses driving more than 1 million miles during the school year, according to Miener. As of Tuesday, the district reports approximately 1,772 stops in the morning for high school, middle school and elementary school students and similar numbers in the afternoon. From early bird classes to after school activities, District 7 has busses on the road from 5:45 a.m. until around 6 p.m. during the week.
Some bus routes are longer for the sake of student safety. Miener said stops are designed to prevent students from crossing roads as often as possible, especially on two-lane highways where the posted speed is 55 mph and drivers often exceed the speed limit. While there are quicker ways of driving the routes, Miener said the district feels a “particular accountability” to make stops safe.
District 7 takes several other steps to prioritize student safety at bus stops. Illinois law requires school bus stops to be within 1.5 miles of a student’s residence, but Miener said the district tries to keep that distance to .6 miles or less. The district is also careful to make stops where students will not be required to walk down rural roads without shoulders.
Additionally, during the first week of school, students review safety procedures and guidelines for riding a bus. Evacuation procedures are practiced later during the school year.
Still, Miener suggests parents discuss bus safety with their students as well.
He said the most significant risk on a school bus is when students are not in their seats. If the bus driver has to brake suddenly for any reason, students can be launched forward and injured. He said the second biggest risk is when students become too noisy and distract the bus drivers.
“A bus is a very safe vehicle,” Miener said. In his 21 years of serving District 7, he said he is not aware of any student being injured on a bus.
“If students are behaving on busses it makes it a lot safer for the student and the driver to get from point A to point B,” he said.
Miener would also like to see motorists be more courteous to bus drivers trying to transverse across traffic, make turns and drop off. He said a lot of time is spent with congestion throughout the district.
“Everyone is busy and in a hurry and they don’t let the busses get out,” Miener said. “More courtesy from motorists, in general, would be a great thing.”
For safety loading, unloading or riding on a school bus, read tips from Miener and ISBE:
Bus safety for motorists
• Know the rules for flashing lights — yellow flashing lights mean the bus is preparing to stop for students to get on or off the bus, and motorists should slow down. Red flashing lights and an extended arm mean students are loading or unloading the bus, and motorists must stop until the lights stop flashing, the arm is pulled in and the bus begins moving.
• Watch for children walking or bicycling to school when backing out of driveways
• Pay attention to neighborhoods with school zones or bus stops where children are congregating
• Slow down
• Be alert
Bus safety for parents
• Make sure your child arrives at the bus stop five minutes before the bus arrives
• Wait away from the road
• Teach your child to ask the driver for help if something is dropped near the bus
• Go over safe school bus loading/unloading with your child
• Go over passenger safety with your child
• Make sure clothing and backpack straps are short so they do not get caught in the handrail or bus door
Bus safety for students
• Stay off the road and on sidewalks while waiting for the bus
• When loading the bus stay at least ten feet (five giant steps) away from the bus and wait for the driver’s signal to approach the bus
• Board the bus single-file
• When getting off the bus look for cars before stepping off
• Move away from the bus
• When crossing the street in front of the bus, make sure you can see the driver’s face
• Never cross the street behind the bus
• Always look left and right when crossing the street
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August 19, 2021 at 10:00PM
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School bus safety: How District 7 strives to keep students safe - The Edwardsville Intelligencer
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