Bus Safety

Transportation Supervisors met with the Putnam County Traffic Safety Board to discuss how we can work together as a team to effective reduce the incidences of illegal passing of school busses.

Our Goal: STOP Red Light Offenders!

In this meeting, we outlined EDUCATION and AWARENESS to be the primary components for a successful program.

The Brewster Schools Transportation Department regularly observes and regulates the driver’s proper stopping procedure to be within compliance of the law.(15 NYCRR 6.8 c)

Our school bus passengers are reminded daily on how to enter and exit the school bus safely and to follow the safe crossing procedures.(8 NYCRR 153.3 d4)

Here are some ways we can work together to help promote safety and enhance awareness of the law and the dangers of illegally passing a school bus.

• Be at the bus stop 5 minutes early and limit your conversation with the driver. A bus stopped for a prolonged period will confuse the motorist and they will be tempted to pass.
• Contact your transportation department with all questions and concerns.
• Review the “Safe Crossing Procedure”(below) and the 6 life-saving tips(below) in the classroom and at home.
• Remind your Student to always pay attention to the driver when getting on and off the school bus.
• Share with your friends and family that it is illegal to pass a stopped school bus when the red lights are flashing. This includes times when students are boarding/deboarding on school property.
• Remember, illegally passing a stopped school bus can cost you a citation, fines, points on your license, and unforgivable student injury.
• If you witness a motorist illegally pass a school bus immediately report the license plate to your local law enforcement agency.
• Report to the Transportation Department specific locations where you have repeatedly witnessed these RED LIGHT offenders.

We plan to work closely with our drivers, the Putnam County Traffic Safety Board, the Sheriff’s Department, and the State police to reduce these red-light offenders and enhance the safety of the students in our community.

Below is some helpful information regarding school bus safety:

• NYSED School Bus Safety Resources
• Student Crossing Procedures
• Six Life-Saving Tips

School bus transportation plays a critical role in the education of our school’s students, and is the direct link between a neighborhood and the classroom. Nationally, more than 25 million children ride the yellow bus every school day, and National School Bus Safety Week serves as a reminder for students, parents, teachers, and the community to keep school bus safety in the forefront. Here are tips to keep our children safe at the bus stop.

Getting Ready for School

• Have your children put everything they carry in a backpack or school bag so that they won’t drop things along the way.
• Encourage them to wear bright, contrasting colors so they will be more easily seen by drivers.
• Make sure children leave home on time so they can arrive at the bus stop before it is due, ideally at least five minutes early. Running after or in front of a bus is dangerous.

Walking to the Bus Stop

• Walk young children to the bus stop or encourage children to walk in groups. There is safety in numbers.
• 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.
• Stop and look left, right and then left again if you must cross the street. Do the same thing at drive -ways and alleys. Exaggerate your head turns and narrate your actions so your child knows you are looking left, right and left.

At the Bus Stop

• Have children wait in a location where the driver can see them while driving down the street. Avoid waiting in a house or car. This creates unnecessary delays and causes other motorist to think there are no students boarding the bus - a serious risk.
• Do not let children play in the street. Playing with balls or other toys that could roll into the street is dangerous.

Getting On and Off the Bus

• Advise and warn children that if they drop something getting on and off the bus, they should never bend over to pick it up and “fall” from driver’s vision. Instead, they should tell the driver and follow the driver’s instructions.
• Remind children to look to the right before they step off the bus. Some drivers have illegally passed stopped school buses on the right.
• 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 dash across the street and forget the safety rules.

Mobile Devices
Cell phones and other electronic devices are permitted on the school bus as long as:

• They are in backpacks or other holders, keeping hands free to use handrails while boarding and departing the bus;
• Headphones, earbuds or similar devices should never be used when boarding or departing the bus;
• Content does not violate the law or school district policy and procedures;
• Use does not create a distraction for the driver.

From: NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR PUPIL TRANSPORTATION (NAPT)

Step One:

Crossers always get off first.

Step Two:

The driver will tell you to:  "Wait until I cross you!"

Step Three:

1. Hold on to the handrail
2. Check before you step off the bus
3. Make sure to look both ways

Step Four:

1. Walk 10 steps in front of the bus
2. Look at your driver
3. Do not cross until the driver signals you
4. If you see the driver, the driver sees you!

Step Five:

1. Cross to the end of the bus
2. Look left, right and left again before you continue on.

Step Six:

The horn mean danger.  If your driver honks the horn, return to where you started from.