Better East Texas: Take school bus safety seriously

TYLER, TX (KLTV) - If you have a school-aged child, chances are they will, at some point, ride a school bus. It may be for a special event, a field trip, or to attend an athletic event or it may be part of their everyday routine.

Riding a school bus used to be a rite of passage and it still is for thousands of east Texas students. But recently, there has been a rash of accidents involving students either entering or exiting school buses. Now, no doubt, there are numerous safety measures to alert approaching drivers when a school bus is about to stop. But still some drivers ignore those measures or are distracted or impaired and they miss them and sadly, the results are tragic.

So, what should parents do to make sure their child is going to be safe when riding a bus? First, parents should get involved. If your student rides the bus, even occasionally, you should reach out to your child’s school to determine bus routes and safety measures around the bus.

Next, go to bus stops and pick up points. While a bus stop might make location sense, what does it look like on the ground? Are there visual obstructions – trees – parked cars – new buildings that might impair someone’s line of sight around a bus?

And now, with the end of Daylight Saving Time, what are lighting conditions during the time of day that your child is entering or exiting a bus? We just can’t assume that the systems surrounding bus ridership are complete or don’t need to be reviewed.

So, check out the bus route, for your child’s sake, and that will make for a Better East Texas.

Copyright 2018 KLTV. All rights reserved.