'Walk and Ride Safely' Resource Kit - Capital Health

Module 2
Lesson 1: ‘GET ME ON THE BUS AND OFF AGAIN … SAFELY!’
Objectives:
Upon completion of Lesson 1, ‘Get Me On The School Bus And Off Again …
Safely’, the student will:
Understand what the phrase ‘danger zone’ means when discussing school
buses.
• Identify and describe what to do while you are waiting for the school bus, how
to board the school bus, and how to get off the school bus.
• Describe the type of behavior that should be used while riding a school bus.
Educator Background:
Travel by school bus is one of the safest modes of transportation. Some people
are concerned about the lack of seat belts, but the interior of school buses are
designed to protect the occupants in a collision without seat belts. Adding seat
belts may not improve the safety of these vehicles.
Despite the safety precautions taken in the design of the bus, injuries from
school bus incidents do occur. Some injuries are the result of school bus
collisions, but children are also injured as pedestrians. This occurs when they
are struck by the school bus or other vehicle while crossing the road to get on to
the bus, or after getting off of the school bus.
Key Facts
Approximately three Canadian children are killed and 31 are injured each
year as pedestrians hit by a school bus.
• An average of 250 children age 14 or under are hospitalized every year in
Canada due to injuries suffered when riding in a school bus. Although the
number of incidents varies considerably from year to year, an average of 1
child dies as a school bus passenger every two - three years.
• One percent (1%) of all road collisions involves buses, including school
buses.
School buses are designed to protect passengers with a system called
compartmentalization, meaning that children will be confined within a
padded compartment in the bus in the event of a crash. The compartment
includes several key safety features: the seats are positioned close
together to form the confined area, the seats have high backs that are
designed to bend and absorb energy during a crash, and the seats are
anchored strongly into the vehicle.
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