Arcata School Bus Safety Week

I’m Ed Smith, an Arcata personal injury lawyer. During the week of Friday, October 20, 2017, the city of Arcata observed National School Bus Safety Week in an effort to remind citizens about keeping children safe from motor vehicle accidents while they make their way to school.

CHP’s Advice

California Highway Patrol (CHP) cooperated closely with California schools to educate students, parents, and motorists about school bus safety. City agencies and CHP ran programs in Arcata throughout the week in order to advocate this year’s National School Bus Safety Week theme, “Stop on Red.” Officers educated and encouraged locals to stop for school busses when busses have their flashing lights activated and their crossing arms down.

CHP said that taking the bus is definitely the safest way for children to get to and from school, but motorists who don’t comply with these safety regulations put kids in danger of receiving serious injuries. CHP reminded citizens that “safety is no accident” and that all members of a community need to contribute to safety efforts in order to keep children from being involved in accidents.

National School Bus Safety Week

The national program School Bus Safety Week, presented by the National Association of Pupil Transportation, is held on the third week in October every year and is observed by federal, state, and city agencies all across the United States. The program meant to be an evolving and active public education effort that offers an opportunity for community members and government organizations to join together to address the importance of school bus safety.

School Transportation Accident Statistics

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports that an average of over 100 fatal accidents related to school transportation occur in the U.S. every year. Additionally, an annual average of over 34 children are fatally injured during these collisions.

NHTSA’s statistics show that the majority of children fatally injured in school transportation accidents are occupants of vehicles other than school busses while about one-third are pedestrians and about one-sixth are bus occupants.

Preventing Accidents

Recent recommendations for decreasing the frequency of school bus collisions include more strict hiring processes for school bus drivers. The processes would include thorough background checks, random drug screening, and psychological testing. Better initial training for drivers and annual refresher seminars have also been recommended as methods for improving pupil transportation safety.

Parents are also able to play an important part in keeping their children safe and secure while using busses. While seat belts are technically mandatory on California school busses, children don’t always use them. Parents can remind their kids of the importance of wearing seatbelts and of the harsh consequences that can result from not being properly secured. Also, children should understand that rowdy behavior on a bus can put the entire bus in danger of an accident.

More Articles by Ed Smith, Arcata personal injury lawyer ~

Arcata Car Personal Injury Lawyer

I’m Ed Smith, an Arcata personal injury lawyer. Collisions are often extremely serious. If you or someone you care about has been hurt in a crash, call (707) 564-1900 for my free, friendly advice. You can also contact me by calling (800) 404-5400 or visiting autoaccident.com.

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pic: “2011 IC CE Bus, North Syracuse School, Central New York” by Nsyrbus under Public Domain

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Arcata School Bus Safety Week