Safety On The School Bus (2nd Ed, 1980)

[Music] it sure is a beautiful morning what a wonderful day to be a school bus I'm glad to see you my name's homer I'm glad you're riding with me today you'll learn a lot about school bus safety did you know I'm designed and built for safety I have a lot of safety features I use these arrows to tell people when I'm going to make a turn and in which direction when I'm slowing down to make a stop I can Flash these warning lights and when I stop to pick up or let off passengers I can put out my stop arm and halt all passing traffic these are things that I use to keep you free from danger or harm this is another one of my safety features my driver Tom he's part of my safety team I wouldn't go anywhere without him Tom is responsible for obeying safety laws just like you're responsible for obeying safety rules every morning rain or shine before we leave the bus yard Tom is required to make a safety inspection he has a long list of things he has to check turn signals stop arm horn lights emergency door everything must be working right if not it's in the garage for me until I get fixed I feel safe with Tom because he's a good driver not only does Tom know me inside and out but he's been specially trained to drive a school bus before anyone can be a school bus driver a law requires them to spend many hours in a classroom learning about me and the rules that keep you and me safe then hours more are spent driving a bus on the road in training A good rule to start your day is to always be on time at your bus stop that's a rule that Tom and I live by you see our bus route and schedule of stops is carefully planned by our school that's so no one will have to wait for me for long and so everyone I pick up along my route will get to school on time if I'm late then everyone is late waiting for your school bus with friends and classmates can be fun but a bus stop can be a dangerous place in games safety is often forgotten and you can always be hurt by the unexpected older children should always look out for younger children no matter what the reason no one should ever go out into the street when you see your bus coming stay back from the curb until it has come to a complete stop only after your driver has opened the door and waved you aboard should you move toward the bus take your time don't rush there'll be a seat for you and help the little ones up the steps Paul always waits until his little sister is safely aboard her school bus before he walks to high school if you miss your bus there's not much you can do to be safe return home maybe your parents can take you to school that day not all school bus safety rules are rules to prevent accidents or injuries a few are simple rules of good manners like keeping your feet off the seats helping to keep the bus clean by not throwing trash on the floor and remembering to take with you what belongs to you and sometimes there's no rule to obey at all there's just a sense of responsibility like today on the way to school when Sally told Tom that one of my lights wasn't flashing that was thoughtful of Sally it showed Tom that Sally was thinking safety Tom wrote that information in his log book and before tomorrow morning he'll have my light fixed the ride to school or home may not be a long ride but if it's a safe ride it's that much more fun the time can be well spent talking with a friend singing a song solving a hard problem just looking out the window at school there's no dilly-dallying about getting off the bus but having arrived safely we don't want an accident now so every morning we're met by a safety monitor who oversees our unloading and helps our smaller Riders off the [Music] bus as soon as our kids are off Tom and and I usually head back to the yard but today is a special day we've been invited to take part in our school bus's emergency evacuation drill I get to be the classroom and Tom gets to be the teacher by law I have to carry Emergency Equipment first aid kit fire extinguisher emergency reflectors Tom and I hope that we never have an emergency but we do have to be prepared for one and so do the children children and the teachers who ride with us so our school holds a school bus emergency evacuation drill twice a year in an emergency everyone has to stay calm and follow the instructions of the bus driver sometimes it's safe to stay on the bus and sit quietly but sometimes it's important to get out of the bus by using the front door or the emergency door it takes courage to jump from the bus to the ground our evacuation drill teaches our kids that in an emergency if they had to they could jump to [Music] safety after school today Tom is going to review six important safety rules you see some of our kids are riding with us this year for the very first time they may not know these rules While others may have forgotten a rule or two all they need today is a reminder a safety rule tells us how to behave what action we should or should not take to keep us from hurting ourselves or others this is the way the center aisle of the bus should always look empty clear all the way to the emergency door you should never leave your books or belongings in the aisle because that creates a safety hazard so Tom's first safety rule is this keep the aisle of the bus clear at all times here's a safety rule that's printed on the wall of the bus this is called a safe line this line is as far as it is safe to lower a window of course it's never safe to put your hands or head out of a window or throw anything from the bus now here's a simple rule don't play with the emergency door if you have an emergency you'll be glad no one did when your bus comes to a railroad crossing do you know what to do you should sit quietly and listen for a train that's what Tom does he opens the door looks both ways and listens for a train if it's all clear it's safe to cross the tracks by doing all that Tom's obeying a safety law and by being quiet you're obeying a safety rule I'm sure Sylvia will never forget rule number four which is to sit quietly so you won't distract the driver not after what happened last week it was just a joke but in a moment it had gone beyond mere fun it had become a serious disturbance one Tom could not ignore he wisely pulled to the curb and stopped the bus it wasn't pleasant for Tom or the kids but an important safety rule had been broken do you remember what it was Tom's last rule is this when the bus is moving stay in your seat your driver may have to make a sudden stop or turn unexpectedly you could be thrown down hard and hurt more than just your [Music] pride safety rules are designed to fit a given situation just up ahead some of my kids have to cross a busy street to get home there's no single safety rule for that but rather a series of small rules safety steps if you like that add up to a safe Crossing here's what you should do to cross the street safely when your bus is stopped get off and stay to the right walk to a point at least 10 ft in front of the bus and back from the curb that way you can see the traffic in both directions now wait wait until your driver s signals that the traffic has stopped and it's clear for you to cross then cross the road promptly you'll be home safe our journey is almost at its end it's been nice having you ride with me today I hope you remember those six important safety rules one keep the aisle clear at all times two don't lower the window below the safe line and never put your hands or head out of the window three don't play with the emergency door four when you come to a railroad crossing sit quietly so your driver can listen for a train five sit quietly so you won't distract your driver six when the bus is moving stay in your seat [Music] [Music] now that you've learned the safety rules does that keep you safe no just knowing the safety rules doesn't keep you safe remember safety is a way of thinking and acting by learning these safety rules you've learned to think about safety but to act safely you've got to obey these rules it's obeying these rules that's what keeps you safe [Music] [Music] for