While the start of the school year is an exciting time for children, it can prove stressful for parents. You can never be too prepared for the first day, particularly if your little one is just entering kindergarten. Still, parents often overlook critical information concerning school bus safety. Going over basic school bus safety tips with your child, prior to the first day of class, will ensure that he or she will be able to board and ride the bus confidently for years to come.

Fortunately, parents in the Richmond area now have access to school bus safety programs designed for children. For four years, Henrico County’s Dumbarton Library has hosted an annual School Bus Safety event that serves to introduce future kindergartners to the school bus before school ever starts. Each year, the program attracts approximately 20 parents and their children from several area schools, and this number is on the rise.

According to Program Coordinator Joy Antrim, boarding the bus for the first time "can be a traumatic experience for both children and parents" meaning "a lot of parents are motivated to get them ready beforehand." The library event provides kids with their first opportunity to board and sit on a school bus and meet an actual bus driver.

A secondary aim of the program is to promote literacy by letting participants take part in reading activities associated with the sights and sounds on a bus and giving them a free book at the end. Interested parents can enter their child in the library’s reading program if they wish to be contacted about school safety events such as this one. Fliers advertising the event will also be posted two months prior to it taking place.

Another great place to find information regarding school bus safety is the Virginia DMV website: www.dmv.state.va.us. While it cites school buses as "one of the safest vehicles on the road" the reality is that "most school bus incidents happen off the bus, not on the bus."

Inside the bus, seatbelts are unnecessary because seat sizes and the amount of padding used have been calculated to compartmentalize and protect children. However, pedestrians should maintain a distance of 10 feet from a moving bus to account for the blind spot "danger zone" that exists around the back and sides.

Also it is important to note that, when a bus’s lights are flashing and the stop bar is out, all other vehicles on the road are legally obligated to stop and allow children to exit or enter the bus. Only drivers on the opposite side of a divided roadway or who have been granted permission by a law-enforcement officer or designated crossing guard may continue on their way.

Though parents would like to think school-bus safety is a no-brainer for their children, studies performed by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) tell a different story. According to data from 2008 "since 1998, 149 school-age pedestrians (younger than 19) have died in school transportation-related crashes."

Half of these children were between the ages of 5 and 7. The majority of these accidents occur between the hours 7 a.m. and 8 a.m. and 3 p.m. and 4 p.m., when loading and unloading tend to take place. Only by teaching children the rules of the school bus and to be aware when one is present can these misfortunes be avoided.

At the Dumbarton Library School Bus Safety event, bus driver Angela Carter-Robinson spoke to the kids about what those rules are. The biggest mistake she sees children make is "pushing and shoving to be first on the bus while it is pulling up." Here is her list of the safety tips parents should seek to instill in their children:

1) Tell your child to take "10 giant steps" (approximately 10 feet) back from the bus while it is in motion.

2) Wait for the bus to come to a complete stop before letting your child approach it.

3) Make sure the children form a straight line to board the bus.

4) Remind your child to use the hand rail when boarding and exiting the bus.

5) Instruct your child to stay seated with bag in lap while the bus is in motion.

6) Let your child know that fighting, shoving, spitting, and pushing on and around the bus are unacceptable.

7) Point out the emergency exits to your child and make sure they know how to use them in the event of an emergency. (Additionally, the bus driver will administer a fire drill within the first 30 instructional days.)

8) Let the bus driver know in advance if your child is part of a carpool or if someone else will be picking them up at drop-off.

9) Adults intending to pick up children at unload should keep a form of identification on them so there is never any question as to whether or not they are an appropriate guardian.

10) Always signal the bus driver before crossing in front of the bus, and make your child do the same.

Also, while it did not make the list, the rising kindergartners at Dumbarton were all disappointed to hear that animals were not allowed on the school bus.

So long as parents keep these things in mind, they should be able to rest easy knowing that their child is capable of boarding the bus without fear. There is no better way to ensure a safe and smooth start to the school year. Everything else will feel like a breeze. RPM