Death at the school bus stop --
What happens --
2SAFESCHOOLS FREE SLIDE PRESENTATION
How it happens --
and how to prevent it!
Age Group: Middle School to Adult. After evaluating this slide show, please give your comments.
"Death is patient and prepares the way
where adults fail to work together
in the noble effort to help keep kids safe."-James Kraemer, Dangerous school buses -
What parents and school staff must know to help keep kids safe.Introductory:
by James Kraemer
While putting together this slide presentation thought was given to what method might work best in reaching participants toward understanding the seriousness of school bus safety and everyone's part in helping to keep kids safe.Consideration was given to the reality that the school bus is often presented as some sort of sanctuary from death -- a warm and fuzzy yellow, friendly, safe haven for kids. Often the school bus is overly presented as the safest form of transportation, with claims as high as 2,000 times safer than some modes of transportation. As a result parents, school staff, kids and even bus drivers can be deceived in to euphoric careless acts when around or riding the school bus.
A look at some stats:
The original milk carton child was 6-year-old Etan Patz, vanished May 25, 1979 as he walked to his school bus stop in lower Manhattan, New York. In this country the life expectancy has risen over the past 20 years for every age group except one: Teenagers. The culprit? Car crashes. They're the number one killer of 15- to 20-year-olds. At 16 years, inexperience is leading to 43.2 crashes per million miles driven, said Barbara Fields in "When kids drive.... (teenage drivers)," From Better Homes & Gardens, Winter, 1998 Issue. According to the stats' most agree on, the occupant fatality rate on the school bus is 0.2 deaths per 100 million miles traveled. Kids riding the school bus can save lives.
50,000 children are struck by vehicles each year, often sustaining serious brain injuries, according to the Brain Injury Association. In 1999, 4,906 pedestrians were killed in traffic crashes in the United States. Nearly one-third of 5 to 9 year-olds killed by motor vehicles are on foot. Kids riding the school bus can save lives.
The school bus can make a difference, statistically speaking. But, statistics have little, if anything, to do with helping to keep specific kids from dieing that, when properly trained, can escape death at the school bus stop.
Most agree that children horse playing around a tractor mowing the school lawn would be severely reprimanded. Horseplay around a backhoe or other heavy equipment at construction sites is intolerable. But around the school bus?
"Most often the question should be, 'How could this happen to that untrained child, that distracted bus driver or motorist, that parent or school staff member sending the child chasing after the bus, that false assumption that the presence of a school bus is a sanctuary from death? -- James Kraemer, 2safeschools
The school bus must also be looked at as dangerous heavy equipment -- where a stop sign and flashing lights are wrongly assumed by some adults, and kids alike, to mean safe passage. When a death does occur disbelief that such a thing could happen is the response. Millions of kids ride 450,000 school buses, making millions of stops every day -- billions annually. How could this happen to that child?
Most often the question should be, "How could this happen to that untrained child, that distracted bus driver or motorist, that parent or school staff member sending the child chasing after the bus, that false assumption that the presence of a school bus is a sanctuary from death?"
The author of this presentation agrees that school buses are very safe, but only to a point. A careless, distracted or undertrained bus driver or motorist, an untrained child, parents and school staff not kept informed -- add to the equation a seemingly harmless mistake at the wrong moment -- can result in a sudden and unchangeable tragedy.
Many of the deaths at school bus stops involve newer bus drivers, bus drivers rushing to meet a schedule, substitute bus drivers not familiar with the route, can include bus drivers or motorists under the influence of drugs or alcohol. All too often death at the school bus stop involved, undertrained, distracted or inexperienced drivers and untrained kids.
Training kids in safe practices on the school bus should be included in the bus driver's daily routine. Train until every child knows what to do next when something bad is about to happen.
A child arrives late to the bus stop, the bus has began to proceed.
You may know the answer to this question, mom and dad might know. Does every child on every school bus know what to do next?
What should the child do next?Death at the school bus stop looks at the risks to young lives and what adults can do to intervene. But as important, if not more important, the continued effort must be to make sure the kids are trained in how to keep themselves safe when on and around school buses.
The school bus stop is the most dangerous part of the bus trip to and from school. Hopefully, your efforts in presenting "Death at the school bus stop" will help ease this serious risk to kids in your community. (jk)
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The slides in this presentation are in (.jpg) format for easy copying of the slides to a file on your computer. The slides can then be sized and printed to transparencies using your picture software and a lazer or ink jet printer for that purpose. MGI PhotoSuite and other popular picture publishers work very well for printing slides. They should look much better printed then on some browser displays. The slides can then be used in your training presentations. Yes, you may omit slides in your presentation, but do not alter the slides you do use. You may not compile and sell this slide presentation or the author's work without permission from 2safeschools. Please remember to give 2safeschools credit, the last slide.
This slide show is presented in 800x600 pixels screen display. The slides are best viewed in full screen mode -- easy to do -- In iExplore simply key F11 or mouse click on View, then click Full Screen in the pop up menu.
To download the slides one at a time, first, create a file you wish to download the pictures. To begin the download process place the mouse pointer anywhere on the individual slide, then click on the RIGHT mouse button. Next, Click on the "Save picture as" item in the pop up menu; then find the file you are saving to and save the slide.
The "Death at the school bus stop" presentation is intended for ages middle school through adult. Some tweaking in your presentation may be needed to fit more appropriately to a specific age group.
Note: This presentation also available on CD for higher quality full screen, keyboard and mouse controlled, computer or computer/projector HTML formats and in stand-alone Animated Self Execute Runtime formats for VGA/SVGA supported big screen projectors or TV display systems. Contact James Kraemer at 2safeschools.
Click Here, to begin the presentation, Death at the school bus stop.
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IMPORTANT NOTICE
This presentation and all 2safeschools presentations, training evaluations, manuals, other offerings are offered only as guidelines for development of school bus driver, school staff, parent and children training programs. All individuals and sources involved in the development of these guides accept no liability for its content. Where there is any question about implementing these materials, first check with your state's PTS or school board for approval.
