It's School Bus Safety Week

It is National School Bus Safety Week and all drivers are reminded to drive carefully and remember school buses make frequent stops with children.

The school board recognizes National School Bus Safety Week as a way to help highlight the importance of school bus safety awareness and education, said David Solomon, director of transportation for the Highlands County School Board, in a news release.

"This year's theme is 'Avoid Harm, Obey the Stop Arm,'" said Solomon on Tuesday morning.

This year's theme emphasizes the importance of motorists following the rules of the road and stopping when the red lights flash on school buses and the stop signs deploy to indicate that children are getting on and off the bus, said Solomon.

"The stop arms require drivers to stop (both oncoming and those behind the bus), except when they are going the opposite direction as the school bus on certain divided highways," he said.

There are several schools that are inviting the bus drivers in order to recognize them for all they do, Solomon said Monday.

"The drivers are passing out blue wristbands to mostly elementary school students to remind them that it is School Bus Safety Week," he said.

About 1,000 wristbands were given out Monday, he said.

As the safest mode of transportation to and from school, parents nationwide trust the school bus to transport more than 26 million schoolchildren in 480,000 school buses each day, according to the National Academy of Sciences and U.S. Department of Transportation.

"In school year 2009-2010, over 6,200 students ride the school bus each day," said Carlene Varnes, transportation operations manager, referring to Highlands County schools.

"Our job is to ensure that they get to school safe and sound on each and every ride, which is why we think it is so important to celebrate School Bus Safety Week."

The safety record for Highlands County is pretty good considering the number of hours and miles driven by the district's 166 full-time and substitute drivers.

The district has about 105 school busses on the road on any given school day.

In 2009 thus far there have been three bus-related accidents recorded in Highlands County schools. There were three in 2008; nine in 2007; four in 2006; two in 2005 and three in 2004.

Only one driver was injured in any of those accidents and that was back in 2004, according to Solomon. No students were hurt in the last five years, Solomon indicated.

Each school bus purchased after Dec. 31, 2000, and used to transport students in grades pre-K through 12, must be equipped with safety belts.

A school bus that was purchased prior to Dec. 31, 2000, was not required to be equipped with safety belts.

School bus drivers undergo a 40-hour training course and must take an eight-hour refresher training course each year.

While national studies confirmed that school bus transportation was the safest way for children to get to school, the American School Bus Council recently found that 44 percent of parents identified the yellow school bus as the safest way for children to get to school.

Part of the goal of School Bus Safety Week is to help everyone understand that school bus transportation is the safest option whenever it is available - many times safer than riding in cars or other smaller vehicles.

For years, school buses have provided access to learning for Florida's and America's school children through healthy, safe and secure transportation to schools.

Nationwide, school buses provided more than 10 billion passenger trips each year and offered solutions to several key issues we've all faced.

Every child who rode a school bus to and from school represented one less car on the road, especially in the congested areas around schools. It also meant less pollution.

Each school bus took the place of about 36 cars that were needed to transport the same number of students, according to American School Bus Council estimates.

The council also estimates that school bus transportation saves Americans more than $6 billion a year on fuel costs.

FAST FACTS

The safety record for Highlands County is pretty good considering the number of hours and miles driven by the district's 166 full-time and substitute drivers.

The district has about 105 school busses on the road on any given school day.

In 2009 thus far there have been three bus-related accidents recorded in Highlands County schools. There were three in 2008; nine in 2007; four in 2006; two in 2005 and three in 2004.

Only one driver was injured in any of those accidents and that was back in 2004, according to Solomon. No students were hurt in the last five years, Solomon indicated.

Each school bus purchased after Dec. 31, 2000, and used to transport students in grades pre-K through 12 must be equipped with safety belts.