School Bus Safety

School Bus Safety
Posted on 10/21/2020
From Curt Jackson, Director of Operations & Transportation 
 
October 21, 2020 - It’s National School Bus Safety Week. Some 25 million students nationwide begin and end their day with a trip on a school bus. Designed for safety, with flashing lights, giant mirrors, stop-sign arms, and that bright yellow color, students are 70 times more likely to get to school safely when taking a school bus instead of traveling by car, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

School buses are designed to protect students through compartmentalization – closely spaced seats and high, energy-absorbing seat backs.

National School Bus Safety Week (October 19 – 23) is a time set aside each year to recognize the important role our bus drivers serve in our communities and remind us to follow safety laws in order to protect children around our school buses. We would like to first recognize our bus drivers and technicians. In Mexico School District, we transport over 900 students daily on 18 routes, usually without incident. Statistically, there is no safer way for a student to travel than on a school bus. This is due in large part to the hard work and dedication of our bus drivers and technicians, and we should all take a moment this week to thank them for what they do. We would also like to thank parents and teachers, who have done an outstanding job of educating their children regarding bus safety. And, certainly, the students, who follow the safety rules so well, ensuring they get to and from school so they can learn. The large majority of the population knows and follows school bus safety rules, and this allows for Mexico Public School students to reach their schools and homes safely every day. Each day all Mexico School District buses go thru a 40-point pre-trip inspection before leaving the lot, and twice a year they are inspected by the Missouri State Highway Patrol motor vehicle inspection division.

The theme of this year’s National School Bus Safety Week is “Red Lights mean STOP.” Fortunately, most accidents involving school buses do not occur when students are on the bus. However, the “Danger Zone,” which is 10 feet around the bus, is where most accidents, involving students, occur. For this reason, it is important that all of us understand what to do when we see a school bus. 
Despite the fact that students are much safer being transported to and from school in a school bus, students and adults at the bus stop are still very much at the mercy of inattentive motorists. The NASDPTS 2019 School Bus Industry Survey identified an average of 95,000 illegal passes across 39 states in a single day. That’s 17 million near misses in one school year, an increase of 2 million from last year alone. In the Mexico area, we have had as many as 6 violations in one day. 

We remind our local patrons to slow down in school zones. Slow down for yellow flashing lights on school buses. And stop for red flashing lights and the stop arm.
Thank you for helping us keep our children safe each and every day!