1000 SW Jackson Suite 230
Topeka, KS 66612-1274
(785) 296-1223
(785) 296-8649 (FAX)

Coordinator:
Jan Stegelman

Executive Committee:
Randall Bolin
NHTSA Region VII

Dennis Cooley, MD
Medical Advisor
American Academy of
Pediatrics, Kansas
Chapter

John Drees
Douglas County
SAFE KIDS Coalition

John Halbran
Kansas Safety Belt
Education Office

Jim Keating
Kansas State
Firefighters Association

Elena Nuss
Kansas State
Fire Marshal's Office

Cindy Samuelson
Kansas Hospital Association

Get Back to School Safely

As the new school year approaches, Safe Kids Kansas reminds parents to take time out to teach and review important safety guidelines with children to get them back to school safely.

"Whether you drive the kids to school or they walk, bike, or ride the bus, it's important for parents and children to go over safety tips together," says Jan Stegelman, Coordinator of Safe Kids Kansas. "This will help ensure a safe, enjoyable start to the school year for everyone."

School Bus Safety
"School buses are, by far, the safest way for kids of all ages to get to and from school," Stegelman says. "School buses are designed with safety features no other vehicles have. The padded, high-backed seats on school buses are close together to create protective compartments, like egg cartons."

Children are not likely to be ejected from a school bus in a crash if they are seated properly - upright and facing forward.

To parents who ask why most school buses do not have seat belts, Stegelman says, "The purpose of seat belts is to prevent ejection, which is usually fatal and almost always catastrophic. There is not a significant risk of ejection from a large school bus."

In a 2002 report on school bus safety, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) found that seat belts on large buses "appear to have little, if any, benefit in reducing serious-to-fatal injuries in severe frontal crashes." Small school buses (under 10,000 pounds) are equipped with lap belts as well as compartmental seating and are especially useful for preschool children who ride in car seats.

"Large school buses are special vehicles," says Stegelman. "In any other vehicle, it is essential that every passenger and the driver be buckled up all the time when the vehicle is moving."

"More children are killed and injured crossing the street at bus stops than riding on a school bus," says Stegelman. "Teach your children about the 10-foot danger zone around the school bus, where the driver can't see children on the ground."

Young children should take eight giant steps away from the bus to be sure the bus driver can see them. Older kids should look to the bus driver for an "O.K." sign before crossing.

Safe Kids Kansas also reminds drivers to obey state laws that prohibit passing a stopped school bus. Children should also be reminded to:

• Arrive at the stop at least five minutes before the bus arrives.
• Stay out of the street and avoid horseplay.
• Ask the bus driver for help if anything is dropped while entering or exiting the bus.

Walking to School
Pedestrian injuries are the second leading cause of unintentional injury-related death among children ages 5 to 14. Safe Kids Kansas recommends that children under 10 never cross the street alone. Make sure you follow these additional safety guidelines:

• Choose the safest route and walk it with children. Look for the most direct route with the fewest street crossings. Children should take the same route every day and avoid shortcuts.
• Teach children to recognize and obey all traffic signals and markings.
• Make sure children look in all directions before crossing the street. Teach them to stop at the curb or edge of the road, and to look left, right and left again for traffic before and while crossing the street.
• Teach children to cross the street at a corner or crosswalk, never from between parked cars or from behind bushes or shrubs.
• Warn children to be extra alert in bad weather. Visibility might be poor and motorists might not be able to see them or stop quickly.
• Demonstrate proper pedestrian safety by being a good role model. Children need you to not only tell them, but also show them how to be safe pedestrians. If there are older children in your home or neighborhood, express to them how important it is to be good role models.

Bicycle riding is a favorite pastime of children. More than 27 million children ages 5 to 14 ride bicycles. Whether out of necessity or for fun, many of these children choose to ride their bikes to school. Unfortunately, bicycles are associated with more childhood injuries than any other consumer product except the automobile. On average, 168 Kansas children ages 14 and under die or are injured as a result of a bicycle crash in traffic each year.

To keep children safe, Kansas SAFE KIDS offers these safety tips for children riding bicycles to school:

• Wear bike helmets at all times when bicycling. In Kansas, traumatic brain injury occurs in 45% of the children hospitalized for bicycle crash injuries. Bike helmets have been shown to reduce the risk of head injury by as much as 85 percent and the risk of brain injury by as much as 88 percent. Purchase a bike helmet that meets U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission safety standards for each child and make sure that it is worn correctly every time the child rides his or her bike.
• Follow the rules of the road. Ride on the right side of the road, with traffic, not against traffic; use appropriate hand signals; respect traffic signals; stop at all intersections, marked and unmarked; and stop and look left, right and left again before entering or crossing the street.
• Never let children ride on the road without direct adult supervision until age 10.
• Plan a safe cycling route with children and ride it with them. A safe cycling route to school may not be the same as a safe walking route.
• Do not ride at night. Children should not be allowed to ride after dark, and should wear retro-reflective clothing when biking at dawn, dusk, or during inclement weather.
• Make sure schools provide cyclists with "safe areas." Bike racks should be placed in areas where there are few motor vehicles and pedestrians. Avoid drop-off and pick-up zones in school parking lots.

Driving Children to School

• Always use child safety seats, booster seats, and safety belts correctly every time your children ride. Kids need to be in a car seat or booster seat until they are approximately 8 years old and 5 feet tall. Children under age 12 should always ride in the back seat.
• Drop off children in a safe location so that they do not have to cross the street. Make sure they enter and leave the car on the curb side.
• Arrange to pick up children at a safe spot away from the congestion of traffic around the school.

Safe Kids Kansas, Inc. is a nonprofit Coalition of 67 statewide organizations and businesses dedicated to preventing accidental injuries to Kansas children ages 0-14. Local coalitions and chapters are located in Allen, Anderson, Atchison, Clay, Dickinson, Doniphan, Douglas, Ford, Franklin, Geary, Jackson, Jefferson, Johnson, Leavenworth, Marion, Meade, Montgomery, Nemaha, Osage, Pottawatomie, Republic, Rice, Saline, Smith, Shawnee, Wabaunsee, Wilson and Woodson Counties, as well as the cities of Chanute, Leavenworth, Manhattan, Norton, Pittsburg, the Wichita Area and the Metro Kansas City Area. Safe Kids Kansas a member of Safe Kids Worldwide, a global network of organizations whose mission is to prevent accidental childhood injury.

www.kansassafekids.org