| As summer draws to a close, parents need to spend some time thinking about back-to-school safety issues. Below are some important tips you and your children should review.
TRAVELING TO AND FROM SCHOOL
Review the basic rules with your youngster:
School Bus
- Watch for loose straps on backpacks and drawstrings on jackets that may become snag hazards on bus handrails.
- Make sure there is a safe place to wait for the bus, away from traffic and the street.
- Wait for the bus to completely stop before approaching it from the curb.
- Do not move around on the bus. Stay seated while the bus is moving. Go right to your seat and stay there until the bus stops.
- Teach your children to exit the bus and walk ten giant steps away from the bus to clear the "Danger Zones." The Danger Zones are areas around the bus where it is difficult for the driver to see.
- Check to see that no other traffic is coming before crossing.
- Make sure to always remain in clear view of the bus driver.
- If you drop something near the bus, do not try to get it. Tell the bus driver, or wait for the bus to pass, then when the road is clear you can pick it up.
Car
- All passengers should wear a seat belt and/or an age- and size-appropriate car safety seat or booster seat.
- Your child should ride in a car safety seat with a harness as long as possible and then ride in a belt-positioning booster seat. Your child is ready for a booster seat when she has reached the top weight or height allowed for her seat, her shoulders are above the top harness slots, or her ears have reached the top of the seat.
- Your child should ride in a belt-positioning booster seat until the vehicle's seat belt fits properly (usually when the child reaches about 4'9" in height and is between 8 to 12 years of age). This means the shoulder belt lies across the middle of the chest and shoulder, not the neck or throat; the lap belt is low and snug across the thighs, not the stomach; and the child is tall enough to sit against the vehicle seat back with her legs bent at the knees and feet hanging down.
- All children under 13 years of age should ride in the rear seat of vehicles.
- Remember that many crashes occur while novice teen drivers are going to and from school. Do not allow your teen to drive while eating, drinking, or talking on a cell phone.
- Adults in cars should always be on the lookout for kids in the street, especially in a school zone.
The Ridge VRS wants you to be safe and have a great school year. |
