School Zone Safety
During the school year, high traffic in school zones, particularly during morning drop-off and afternoon pick-up periods, can create additional driving hazards. With most children headed back to school later this month, it’s a good time to raise awareness of pedestrian safety and take another look at your journey management protocols.
Start by sharing some basic safety tips in an e-blast to coworkers or on a digital bulletin board.
For Drivers:
- Slow down and obey posted speed limits in school zones
- Watch for pedestrians and be cautious when backing up
- Put your phone down, keep your eyes up and drive distraction-free
For Pedestrians:
- Walk on sidewalks and cross streets in crosswalks
- Watch for vehicles entering or exiting driveways, or backing up in parking lots
- Stay alert, and refrain from cellphone use and wearing earbuds so you can hear signals like honking horns
Then, consider adjusting routes for delivery drivers on your team to steer them away from school zones during peak traffic hours.
Get everyone on your team signed up for a free refresher course: Journey Management Planning. This 20-minute online course presents drivers with several scenarios that contrast best practices and poor planning. Discuss what they learn and how planning for a safe trip can reduce risks.
Finally, download these free resources to go one step further:
- Poster: Give Pedestrians a Brake
- Video: Driver Behavior Series: Pedestrian Safety
- Quiz: Everyone’s a Pedestrian
When kids return to school, we all need to raise our safety game.
School Bus Training
Start the new school year with a renewed focus on safety. Work with staff members in your district to keep kids safe as they travel to and from school each day. Build knowledge on transporting preschool-aged children and children with disabilities with free training from the National Safety Council.
The newly released Child Passenger Safety on School Buses National Training is available in two versions: one for Child Passenger Safety Technicians, the other for pupil transportation personnel. Both versions have an in-person and hybrid format, and both provide an overview of child-safety restraint systems on school buses. Included in each training:
- Instructional videos
- Hands-on practice opportunities
Scan this partial list of upcoming training events to see if one fits your schedule: Enrichment Training Calendar.
Looking for a free online option? The new School Bus Learning Library is the perfect way to provide school bus transportation training in specific topic areas. Individual courses cover everything from federal safety standards to child safety restraint systems with CAM wraps.
To set up free group delivery of individual courses in the School Bus Learning Library, use this Group Course Training Request form. Group administrators are able to enroll students in training, track their progress and run training completion reports.
Or, make use of our YouTube playlist: Child Passenger Safety on School Buses. The playlist is stocked with more than 20 videos on a wide range of topics, including:
- Compartmentalization
- Safety vest and seat mount
- Child safety restraint systems and school bus emergency evacuation
Watch one or all of the videos with your team. Ask questions to create engagement: What did you find most interesting? What was one fun fact you learned?
Continuous learning makes people feel more fulfilled in their careers. Learning more about school bus safety comes with another reward: Seeing the smiles on the faces of the children you transport. Help them all grow up to be tomorrow’s leaders.