Bus Safety

Safely transporting students is a shared responsibility between home and school; FHSD is responsible for children while they are on the bus, while parents are responsible for children to and from the bus stop and while waiting for a school bus.

The district also asks parents to review bus rules with their children to ensure the safety of all riders. Students who repeatedly violates bus rules jeopardizing safety and may ultimately be denied bus service.

Parents who have concerns to bus transportation are encouraged to call the Transportation Department at 231-3335.

BUS SAFETY RULES

• All students are to remain seated when the bus is in motion and abide by all safety and discipline policies.

• All students must wait at their designated place of safety until the bus has come to a complete stop for pick-up and has pulled away after drop-off.

• Students must obey the driver’s hand signal and walk at least 10 steps in front of the bus if they need to cross the street.  When departing the bus, students must follow the driver’s hand signal and go to their designated place of safety on the residence side of the roadway (Ohio Revised Code 4511.75).

• Parents should provide students with a backpack or book bag. Items carried by hand, including loose papers, are dangerous as children get off the bus. Ensure that backpacks and book bags have the student’s name on them, as well as reflective material or tape to help students be visible to the bus driver.  Parents may want younger students to have their name, address, and telephone number in or on their school bag to help return items left on the bus to the correct owner in a timely manner.

• Parents should check a child’s clothing for the presence of long drawstrings or other dangling items. These can become snagged in the bus door during loading/unloading, and should be removed from clothing.

• The “Danger Zone” is the area on all sides of the bus where children are in the most danger of being hit. Children should stay ten feet away from the bus (or as far away as they can) and never go behind it. They should take five giant steps in front of the bus before crossing, so they can be seen by the driver.

• Delays due to inclement weather, breakdowns, accidents, and traffic conditions do occur and may cause students to wait longer at their bus stops. Students should dress appropriately for the weather to ensure their safety and comfort and parents should discuss with their student(s) what to do if the bus is late.

• Students should walk directly to the bus stop in the morning and return home promptly after being dropped off at a bus stop. Parents should have an emergency plan in place in the event that they are not home when the student arrives. This could include going to a neighbor’s home and/or calling a relative.

• Students should never talk to a stranger. If a stranger approaches a student, students should run to safety and tell their parents, teacher, or school principal immediately. Parents should report incidents involving strangers to local law enforcement and the bus driver, school principal, and transportation manager or supervisor.

• Parents may want to develop a safety password with their child. Parents can share that safety password with other adults who they have given permission for their child to ride home with, letting their child know that the adult is a safe person.

• Parents should discuss with their student(s) that if someone knows their name, that does not necessarily mean they are not a stranger. Student names are occasionally stitched on jackets, backpacks, or t-shirts and a stranger may use their name in order to seem familiar.

• Children sitting properly and quietly talking or reading contribute to the overall safety of the bus.

• Bus drivers will verbally announce to passengers when they are approaching a railroad crossing. At that time, it is important that students are quiet so that the driver can hear if there is a train approaching. Passengers must remain silent until the bus is completely across the tracks.

• If students miss their bus, an alternate means to transport students to school should be prepared in advance. Parents and students should not follow the school bus on foot or by car, or approach the bus from the rear of the bus, as the driver may not see the student, resulting in a very dangerous situation.

• Bus drivers often need assistance with younger passengers and new students who do not know his/her address. To help bus drivers drop younger students off at the correct location at the correct time, parents should provide younger students and students new to the district with two notes or cards containing the student’s name, parent’s names, home phone number, back-up phone number, and home address. The student should give this note to both their morning and afternoon bus driver.