A key to back-to-school safety is being careful getting there, according an expert at the Injury Prevention Center at Connecticut Children’s.
Watch for Me CT program manager Amy Watkins says it all starts at the bus stop, relaying a key rule: students should wait for the bus 3 big steps, or about 6 feet, away from the curb.
“Parents (should) tell kids at the bus stop,” says Watkins, “‘You want to not be running or playing. Stay away from the road, take some big steps back.’”
She also advises parents and students not to move towards the bus until it’s come to a full stop, and for students to cross the street in front of the stopped bus, not behind it.
Watkins says it’s also up to drivers in general to stop for buses stopped with their flashing lights on, as required by state law:
“Unfortunately, we do have a lot of people illegally passing school buses, and that is so dangerous, and every year in the United States that causes some children to lose their lives, so paying attention to school buses, driving respectfully around them and stopping when those stop lights are on.”
According to the nonprofit news site Stateline, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reported 53 deaths in crashes involving illegal passing of a school bus between 2000 and 2021.
Watkins says school buses are a relatively safe mode of transportation, despite NHTSA reporting that school bus crashes killed 128 people nationwide in 2023, up 23% from 2022.
If you’re considering whether to drive your kids to school, Watkins advises using the school bus instead, saying, “The school bus is actually the safest way for kids to get to school. It’s big and yellow, it’s got the big seats… But if you absolutely have to drive your child to school, you want to keep in mind that the busy drop-off-and-pick-up area can get a little chaotic and be dangerous.”
She says to watch for darting-and-dashing children.
The National Safety Council (NSC) has tips for walkers, and there’s an important one for teens: Put the phone down! Distracted walking is dangerous. Walkers should use sidewalks where available, or walk facing traffic when using the road.
The NSC warns bikers to wear a properly-fitted helmet, and to ride on the right side of the road, with traffic.
Watkins has a back-to-school safety warning on another front: She advises parents and children to resist the trend of posting personal information, like a child’s name or even a teacher’s name, online.
“It’s one thing to share it with immediate friends and family, but to put it openly onto social media,” says Watkins, “that leaves your child vulnerable to predators who may be able to identify what school they’re at, who their teacher is.”