Hatzoloh of Rockland County has published a series of important school bus safety reminders in both English and Yiddish, urging parents to review the potentially lifesaving rules with their children.
The posters, titled “A Beating Heart,” focus on preventing serious bus-related incidents and stress that keeping children safe requires awareness and responsibility from parents, children, and drivers alike.
Hatzoloh notes that while its primary role is to respond when emergencies occur, its members have seen firsthand the consequences of serious bus-related incidents and believe that education and prevention are equally important.
Among the key reminders, children are urged to always wait for the bus driver’s clear signal before crossing the street and never assume that flashing red lights or stopped traffic automatically mean it is safe to cross.
The posters also warn children and adults never to run after a moving bus, stressing that missing a bus is never worth risking a life. Children should walk rather than run when approaching a bus and should never bend down near or underneath a bus to retrieve an item. If something is dropped, they should first move to a safe location and alert the driver.
Parents are also urged to set the proper example by following the same safety rules themselves, as children often learn by watching the adults around them.
“Together, with proper care and responsibility, we can help keep our children safe,” Hatzoloh said, concluding with a tefillah that Hashem protect all children and families from harm.
The bus drivers need to use their yellow lights to warn when the doors are about to open and not just suddenly activate the red lights and stop signs while cars are already in the process of passing. They are creating a safety hazard for the children by not doing so and also wasting people’s hard earned money with those stop sign cameras issuing tickets to people who were never given a chance to stop.
Part of the problem is bus drivers who turn on their yellow warning lights too early. I’ve seen drivers turn on the yellow lights and then continue driving at full speed for a few minutes before slowing down. If drivers would hold off with turning on the lights until they’re actually about to stop, it would be easier to take them seriously.