Hospital advises parents to review school bus safety with kids

Cincinnati – As the new school year begins, experts at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center urge parents to discuss school bus safety with their children.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, each year, approximately 19 school-age children die in school transportation-related traffic crashes.

Susan Laurence, injury prevention coordinator at the hospital, offers the following tips:

• Children should arrive at the bus stop at least five minutes early, and should not engage in horseplay.
• While on the bus, children should remain seated and facing forward. Hands and arms should be inside the vehicle.
• When boarding the bus, children should line up single file and use the handrail.
• Parents should remove loose drawstrings or ties on clothing, as these can snag on bus handrails.
• Children should cross the street at least 10 feet – or five “giant steps” – in front of the bus.
• Children should always wait for the bus to come to a complete stop before exiting, and exit from the front of the bus.
• If anything is dropped while boarding or exiting, children should ask the bus driver for assistance.