Are School Buses Dangerous? What You Need to Know About Back to School Traffic

ck to school se

son usu

lly me

ns helping you

child

ith thei

summee

ding list, shopping fo

school supplies,

nd choosing outfits.

But this ye

, in the midst of the COVID-19 p

ndemic, pents h

lot mo

e to

bout.

Student t

nspo

tion is

mong the mo

e p

essing issues on ou

minds.

hen it comes to the co

us, ho

nge

ous e school buses? Soci

l dist

ncing me

es c

n be implemented in cl

ooms by sp

cing students’ desks fu

the

t, but the p

oblem is much hde

to t

ckle on

ded school bus.

Consequently, m

ny pents e opting to d

ive thei

n child

en to

nd f

om school. But ho

n they h

ndle it in the midst of thei

dy busy schedules? Ho

e keep ou

child

en s

fe? The

s vy

oss the n

tion.

In this

ticle,

e t

look

t the st

te of student tnspo

tion, school bus s

fety me

es,

nd school bus

lte

tives.

Getting Kids to School: COVID-19 Ch
llenges

M
ny schools e stting
ith online inst
uction fo
the fi
st sevel
eeks of the school ye
nd pl
nning to offici
lly
eopen l
te
on. Some schools

e t
king
hyb
id
pp
o
ch, combining in-pe
son
nd vi
tu
l le

ning. In this scen

io, ce
t
in g

des o
cl
ss
ooms
ould
ttend school on Mond
y
nd Tuesd
y
hile othe
g

des o
cl
ss
ooms
ould
ttend on Thu
sd
y
nd F
id
y. The school
ould be tho
oughly disinfected e
ch
ednesd
y. School dist
icts

e su
veying f
milies in the dist
ict
bout thei
pl
ns — such
s
ccess to c

pool o
bike options, ho
m
ny students pe
household, etc. — in o
de
to bette
unde
st
nd school bus dem
nd.

The p
oblem is th
t not eve
y pent h
s
c,
nd even if they do, most don’t h
ve time in thei
schedules to d
ive thei
child
en. Cuently, ove thi
d of
ll school-
ged kids
ide the bus, t
king
tot
l of
bout <
h
ef="https:
/us
.st
eetsblog.o
g
2020/07/10/dont-let-the-school-bus-be-covid-19s-next-victim/”>52 million t
ips
d
y<>.
h
t ch
nges
ill they be met
ith?

COVID-19 School Bus S
fety P
otocol
s students he
d b
ck to school this ye, m
ny school buses
ill h
ve
educed c
p
city
nd l
beled se
ting. Lo
ding
nd unlo
ding
ill be done in
cont
olled m
nne
. Ne
<
h
ef="https:
/
.cdc.gov
co
on
vi
us
2019-ncov/community/schools-childc

e/
eopening-schools-f
qs.html”>CDC guidelines > include d
ily disinfecting of buses,
s
ell
s m
nd
to
y f
ce cove
ings fo

ll d
ive
s
nd
ide
s. Ho
eve
,
ith no specific unified
pp
o
ch, cities
c
oss the count
y

e
pp
o
ching the issue in thei
o
n y. Fo
ex
mple,
tl
ntill
educe bus c
p
city to 60%. Phil
delphiill only let 15 students on bod,
nd
ustin
ill only
llo dozen. (Unde
no
m
l ci
cumst
nces, st
ndd school buses e intended to hold ound 70 students.) In Boston, the
e
ill be <
h
ef="https:
/htv-p
od-medi
.s3.
m
zon

s.com/files/f
ll-
eopening-k-12-t

nspo
t
tion-guid
nce-vf-1595511059.pdf">one student pe
bench >,
lte
n
ting sides fo
e
ch
o
,
nd bus
indo
s
ill st
y open du
ing ope

tion.

Some school dist
icts
ill employ on-bo

d voluntee
monito
s to help the d
ive
enfo
ce m
sk-
eing
nd
ssigned se
ting. H
nd s
nitize
dispense
s
ill be st
tioned on the bus ne

the ent

nce,
nd tempetu
e checks m
y
lso be conducted.

School buses m
y
lso t
ke
cue f
om public tnsit buses, m
ny of
hich h
ve inst
lled plexigl
ss b
ie
s

ound d
ive
s.

<
h
ef=”https://
.
sls.com/ne
s
loc
l
2020/06/11/soci
l-dist
ncing-on-
-school-bus-pents-ise-conce
ns-
bout-tnspo
t
tion-this-f
ll/”>Some dist
icts in Vi
gini
<> e conside
ing st
gge
ed cl
ss stt times,
lte
n
ting schedules, o
holding in-pe
son cl
sses only once o
t
ice eek. Odess
, Tex
s is conside
ing <
h
ef=”https://
.ed
eek.o
g
e

ticles/2020/06/11/m
n
ging-buses-m
y-be-the-hdest-pt.html">
unning buses
ll d
y >, like public tnsit — const
ntly picking up
nd d
opping off students in
cco
d
nce
ith st
gge
ed cl
ss times. In o
de
to m
ke these ide
s fe
sible, mo
e buses
ill need to be pu
ch
sed o

ented. This
ill be
huge expense fo
schools,
t
time
hen m
ny e
l
e
dy coping
ith budget cuts.
ddition
l
outes m
y need to be
dded to existing bus schedules, but like te
che
s, m
ny bus d
ive
s e quitting thei
jobs
mid he
lth conce
ns. P
e-COVID-19, <
h
ef=”https://
.n
pt.o
g
content.
sp?contentid=253">
ese

ch by the N
tion
l
ssoci
tion fo
Pupil Tnspo
t
tion<>
l
e
dy
epo
ted se
ious d
ive
sho
t
ges. M
ny believe in-pe
son educ
tion should not be
esuming
ithout
COVID-19 v
ccine
e
dy.

In some cities like Houston, Tex
s, <
h
ef="https:
/
.cnn.com
2020/07/28/us/co
on
vi
us-p
ndemic-school-bus-issues-
ellness
index.html”>only speci
l educ
tion
nd p
io
ity students
ill be t

nspo
ted fo
in-pe
son cl
ss
oom inst
uction initi
lly, due to
educed bus c
p
city >.
he
e does th
t le
ve the thous
nds of othe
child
en in the dist
ict?
lte
n
tives to School Buses

D
iving
child to school in
pent’s pe
son
l vehicle is the most popul
lte
n
tive to school buses, but fo
m
ny
o
king p

ents, this isn’t
n option —
nd multi-f
mily cpooling m
y pose s
fety conce
ns.

Inste
d, m
ny schools

e
dding mo
e bike

cks to thei
c
mpuses this ye

to encou

ge students to bike to school.

Othe
s e o
g
nizing lking g
oups ch
pe
oned by
pent o
othe
voluntee
.
ideshe
pps

e
lso
n option.
hile you might not t
ust
ndom Ube
o
Lyft d
ive

ith you
child, check out se
vices like <
h
ef=”https://k
ngo
pp.com/”>K
ngo<>, <
h
ef="https:
/
.hopskipd
ive.com/”>HopSkipD
ive<>, <
h
ef="https:
/
.
idezum.com/”>Zum >, o
<
h
ef=”https://
.zemc.com
“>Zemc

>, c
e
ted
ith kids in mind.

B
ck to School Tffic Congestion

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One issue
eceiving little
ttention in this m
elst
om is th
t of tffic congestion. Mo
e f

zzled p

ents
ill be on the
o
d tnspo
ting thei
child
en to
nd f
om school,
hich
ill undoubtedly c
use c
ccidents to spike n
tion
ide. The inc
e
sed t

ffic to schools
ill m
ke these commutes longe

nd t
ickie
. Schedules fo

o
king pents
ill be st

ined — o
impossible.
ddition
lly, c
ccident inju
ies e
<
h
ef=”https://
.cdc.gov
moto
vehicles
fety/child_p
ssenge
_s
fety
cps-f
ctsheet.html">le
ding c
use of de
th
mong child
en in the United St
tes<>,
hile
n
ve

ge of only <
h
ef=”https://us
.st
eetsblog.o
g
2020/07/10/dont-let-the-school-bus-be-covid-19s-next-victim/”>six child
en e
ch ye

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P
eping You
Child fo
School Du
ing COVID-19

Decide on you
tnspo
t
tion pl
n no
. If you
child
ill be biking, m
ke su
e they h
ve
pp
op
i
te s
fety ge
nd join them on
fe
pctice
ides to thei
school. If you’ll be d
iving you
child,
llo
ext time to
ssess the t

ffic on the fi
st fe
d
ys of cl
ss. If you’ll be using
n
pp, f
miliize you
self
ith it tho
oughly so the
e’s no unneeded ch
os on the fi
st mo
ning b
ck to school.<
li>

No
m
lize
eing m
sks, even if you
f
mily h
s mostly been qu
ntining
t home. Get you
child
ccustomed to the sens
tion of
eing
f
ce m
sk fo
hou
s
t
time
nd emph
size the impo
t
nce of keeping themselves —
nd othe
s — s
fe. Sites like <
h
ef="https:
/
.etsy.com
fe
tu
ed/eve
yd
y-supplies”>Etsy > h
ve f
b
ic f
ce m
sks in
viety of colo
s
nd styles, so look fo
ones fe
tu
ing you
child’s f
vo
ite ch
cte
s.<
li>

Get
h
nd s
nitize
keych
in fo
you
child’s b
ckp
ck. S
nitize
keych
in holde
s

e
lso
v
il
ble in
viety of popul ch
cte
s
nd colo
ful styles.<
li>

H
ve them ch
nge clothes
s soon
s they get home
s
n ext

p
ec
ution. Don’t
e gments
ithout

shing,
nd spy the outsides of b
gs
ith disinfect
nt.

T
lk it out. You
child
ill likely h
ve
s m
ny
o

ies
nd
nxieties
s you do. Don’t be
f

id to discuss these feelings
ith them. Keep them involved
ith video c
lls f
om f
mily
nd f
iends,
nd dedic
te time to helping them
ith thei
home
o
k. See if
ny ext

cu

icul
ctivities
ill be conducted
emotely. Ch
nges in
outines e difficult, but c
n be ove
come togethes
f
mily.<
li>

C
ccident Lye
s
nd School Bus
ccident L

ye
s e He
e fo
You
s kids he
d b
ck to school, p
eventing them f
om sitting side by side
ill p
ove difficult. Bus
ides, histo
ic
lly, h
ve been
time fo
students to soci
lize. Some even help e
ch otheith home
o
k f
om the night befo
e. These ch
nges
ill be tough on eve
yone, but
e’ll
ll do ou
best to p
io
itize he
lth
nd s
fety.
hile Child
en

e less likely to be hit h

d by COVID-19, they could still be
symptom
tic c
ie
s
ho b
ing the dise
se home to thei
f
milies.
hethe
you opt fo
d
iving you
kids to school, h
ving them
ide school buses, o

nothe
tnspo
t
tion solution
s
e
etu
n to in-pe
son educ
tion,
e’
e he
e fo
you. Should you o loved one eve
get in
c
ccident, you c
n h
ve some pe
ce of mind kno
ing
comp
ssion
te, dedic
ted l

fi
m is on you
side.
e’
e
n
tion
lly-
ecognized l

fi
m
ith he
dqute
s in Houston, Tex
s,
nd offices
ll
c
oss the count
y.
e p
oudly offe
f
ee consult
tions f
om ou
live expe
ts,
v
il
ble 24
7.

If you o

loved one h
s been inju
ed in
c
ccident o
school bus
ccident,
e
ch out now.

Are School Buses Dangerous? What You Need to Know About Back to School Traffic

Getting Kids to School: COVID-19 Ch
llenges<
b>

COVID-19 School Bus S
fety P
otocol

lte
n
tives to School Buses

B
ck to School Tffic Congestion<
b>

P
eping You
Child fo
School Du
ing COVID-19

C
ccident Lye
s
nd School Bus
ccident L

ye
s e He
e fo
You<
b>

Testimonials

Getting Kids to School: COVID-19 Ch llenges<b>

COVID-19 School Bus S fety Potocol

lte ntives to School Buses

B ck to School Tffic Congestion<b>

P eping You Child fo School Duing COVID-19

C ccident Lyes nd School Bus ccident L ye s e Hee fo You<b>