Rule of the Week 12/16/2008

Safe Driving!

Kari

Late Buses Due to Weather Conditions

The buses left this morning on time although, due to the road conditions, they are running behind schedule by ten to fifteen minutes. Please be patient!

Safe Driving!
Kari

Rule of the Week

This Week's Rule:
Cell phone use is prohibited on the bus.

What It Means:
Since the school bus is an extension of the classroom, cell phones must be kept out of the driver's sight on the school bus.

Why It Matters:
The bus driver, whose job it is to look forward and pay attention to matters outside the bus, has a difficult time monitoring cell phone use.  In the past couple years, students have used cell phones to harass other riders, encouraged friends to play traffic chicken with the bus, taken inappropriate pictures, and used the phone to defy the bus driver.  Cell phones are no longer permitted on the bus.  A driver who observes a student using the cell phone will confiscate the phone.  Parents will be able to pick it up at the bus company after the first offense.  Future offenses will result in losing the phone for longer periods of time.

Safe Riding!

Rule of the Week

Rule of the Week:
Watch the driver; thumbs UP for safety!

What It Means:
When students are outside the bus and need to approach or are exiting the bus and moving toward their homes, the driver will signal them when it is safe to move. 

Why It Matters:
The driver has the best view of traffic approaching the bus, so the driver needs to control the student approach to the bus.  The same is true as students leave the bus to go home. 

In the past, we use the Safety Wave.  We found that some drivers were confused by the wave, wondering if it meant they could go through the sign.  We've had more success with the "Thumbs UP for Safety" practice.  In fact, some students return the signal to the bus driver!

Safe Riding!

Rule of the Week

Rule of the Week:
Wait for the bus in a safe place, and in an orderly manner.

What It Means:
Students waiting for the bus must wait in a location more than ten feet from where the bus stops.  Approach to the bus will be regulated by the driver's signal.

Why It Matters:
Students need to wait in a location a safe distance from traffic and from the approaching bus.  Even students entering the bus on the door side need to wait for the driver's safety signal, especially when it's cold outside.

Waiting in the roadway, on top of snowbanks, or inside the house is generally a bad idea. 

Safe Riding!

Rule of the Week

This Week's Rule:
Get on the bus in a single file line.  Never push.

What It Means:
Students need to enter the bus one-by-one, using the handrail.  The same is true upon exiting: using the handrail, students need to leave the bus one-by-one.

Why It Matters:
Pushing while standing too close to the bus is dangerous for all students.  Approaching and entering the bus in a single file line means the bus driver can easily see all the students and observe their safe entry onto (and later exit from) the bus.

Safe Riding!

Rule of the Week

This Week's Rule:

Wait for the bus in a safe place and in an orderly fashion.

What It Means:
Wait at the designated school bus stop at a place approved by parents and the bus driver. Avoid horseplay.

Why It's Important:

Students need to wait off the roadway for the bus to arrive. It's best not to stand on top of snowbanks or climb trees. Waiting in an orderly fashion means no one will be pushed into the street at an unsafe time.

Safe Riding!

Kari

Rule of the Week

This Week's Rule:

Keep your hands to yourself.

What It Means:
Students should be sitting facing the front of the bus with their belongings and their hands in their laps.

Why It's Important:

Most problems on the bus would be resolved if the students didn't touch each other.

We also believe the best way to stop the spread of germs is to encourage students to avoid touching each other as much as possible.

Safe Riding!

Kari

Welcome

Welcome to our blog. We will be adding information weekly to this site, at first just our "Rule of the Week" entry. Check back often or join our mailing list.

When necessary, we will be posting information about late buses. To receive the posting, you will need to join the mailing list. It looks like you will receive information about all late buses at this point, since we haven't discovered how to narrow the field, but they're not late often! Late bus postings will be made for buses running more than 15 minutes late, and a brief description of the trouble will appear in the posting.

Happy Trails!

Update: We're migrating our blog to a new site and will not be moving each of the "Rule of the Week" posts (just the first ones) to simplify the process. We'll begin posting the new "Rule of the Week" when school starts in September. June 23, 2010

Safe Driving!
Kari