Your Students Are Our Priority
We believe that a positive experience on the school bus carries into the classroom and nurtures a rewarding experience at school. As a partner in school transportation, we help prepare drivers to be confident in their role and equipped to manage any student situation they may face by effectively and positively guiding passengers towards behaving safely.
We offer an in-class educational program to students led by GoldStar bus drivers and school officials to teach students about school bus safety. Our program covers topics such as safety outside the bus, Danger Zones, safely crossing the street, school bus evacuation plans, and much more. We distribute activity books, have a Question and Answer session, and provide students with information they can take home to share with their parents and caregivers.
Know the Danger Zones
According to the NHTSA, the school bus “danger zones” are the areas on all sides of the bus where students are in the most danger of not being seen by the driver. Typically this is thought of as the ten feet in front of the bus (where the driver may be seated too low to see a child), the ten feet on either side of the bus (in the driver’s blindspot), and the area behind the bus.
The leading practices to reduce the risks of students in danger zones include:
- Explain what the Danger Zone is, and the areas around the school bus
- Teach students the proper street crossing procedures and safety precautions
- Ask that all backpack and purse drawstrings, cords, or straps be removed or tucked away
- Drivers should count how many students leave the bus and know where they are before pulling away from a stop
Double Check for Sleeping Children
To ensure that no child is ever left unattended on one of our vehicles, our drivers are required to park their bus in a secure location and perform a complete Child-Check procedure at the end of every route, every time.
This process entails walking the full length of the bus to look in, around, and beneath every seat while keeping in mind that a stray backpack or jacket may be a sign that a child is asleep – or hiding – nearby. Many of our vehicles are equipped with an electronic passenger reminder system, and we provide videos, training, vehicle placards, and other specialized signage to support the Double Check for Sleeping Children initiative.
These are potentially life-saving measures that every driver is required to do at the end of every route, every time, and we ensure that our team members are using all resources available to keep our passengers safe.
