The American Red Cross
The first day of school has arrived for some districts, and it’s approaching fast for others. The American Red Cross offers tips to help ensure kids have a safe start to their school year.
“Taking a few minutes to teach or remind students about ways to stay safe as they head back to school is the perfect way to start the year,” said Jane Blocher, Executive Director of the Red Cross of Greater Kansas. “These safety tips will not only help protect students anywhere they go, but they also provide a reminder for adults on ways we can be safer every day.”
BACK TO SCHOOL SAFETY STEPS
- Teach young children important personal information. Make sure younger students know their phone number, home address, how to contact their parents at work, another trusted adult they can call, and how to dial 911 in an emergency.
- Remind kids not to talk to strangers. Teach children never to accept rides, gifts, or invitations from someone they don’t know.
- Walk on the sidewalk whenever possible. If there’s no sidewalk available, children should walk facing traffic so they can see approaching vehicles.
- Walking to school? Look both ways before crossing. Kids should stop at every street corner and look left, right, and left again before crossing. Encourage students to cross only at corners, obey crossing signals, and stay within marked crosswalks. Children should avoid running into traffic or crossing between parked cars where drivers may not see them.
- Does your student ride a bus? Arrive at the bus stop early. Students should get to the bus stop early and wait a safe distance from the curb. Teach kids to wait until the bus comes to a complete stop and only board when instructed by the driver or attendant. Children should stay where the driver can see them and never walk behind the bus.
- Riding a bike to school? Always wear a helmet. If your student bikes to school, a properly fitted helmet is one of the best ways to prevent serious injuries. Kids should ride on the right side of the road and follow the same direction as traffic.
- Buckle up. Every time. Whether driving across town or just to school, everyone in the vehicle should wear a seat belt.
- Use the right car seat or booster seat. Younger children should stay in a car seat or booster seat until the seat belt fits correctly — usually when they are between ages 8–12 and taller than 4 feet 9 inches. Children under 13 should ride in the back seat.
- Make sure teen drivers wear seat belts. Teen drivers should always buckle up before starting the car, no matter how short the trip.
- Eliminate distracted driving. Remind teens to avoid texting, calling, eating or drinking while driving to school.
DRIVERS, SLOW DOWN!
Drivers should slow down as children head back to school. Know that yellow flashing lights indicate a school bus is getting ready to stop ─ motorists should slow down and be prepared to stop. Red flashing lights and an extended stop sign indicate the bus is stopped and children are getting on or off.
Motorists must stop when they are behind a bus, meeting the bus or approaching an intersection where a bus is stopped. Motorists following or traveling alongside a school bus must also stop until the red lights have stopped flashing, the stop arm is withdrawn, and all children have reached safety. This includes two and four-lane highways. If physical barriers such as grassy medians, guide rails or concrete median barriers separate oncoming traffic from the bus, motorists in the opposing lanes may proceed without stopping. Do not proceed until all the children have reached a place of safety.