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

School Bus Passengers at Greatest Risk Boarding and Exiting

Oct. 16-22 is National School Bus Safety Week

October 16-22 is National School Bus Safety Week, and Safe Kids Kansas reminds parents and caregivers that more than 25 children each year die in pedestrian accidents involving school buses. In fact, three times as many children are killed in school bus accidents while getting on or off the bus than while riding it.

"Teach your children about the 10-foot danger zone around the school bus, where the driver can't see children on the ground," says Jan Stegelman, Safe Kids Kansas coordinator. "Young children should take eight giant steps away from the bus to be sure the bus driver can see them. Older kids who must cross the street should look to the bus driver for an 'OK' sign before crossing, and always cross in front of the bus."

Safe Kids Kansas also offers parents and the 194,460 Kansas school children that ride the bus each day these reminders from the School Bus Information Council:

• The bus driver and others cannot see you if you are standing closer than 10 feet to the bus. Stay out of the danger zone!
• If something falls under or near the bus, tell the driver. Never try to pick it up yourself!
• While waiting for the bus, stay in a safe place away from the street.
• When you get on or off the bus, look for the bus safety lights and make sure they are flashing.
• Be alert to traffic. When you get on or off the bus, look left, right, left before you enter or cross the street.
• When the driver says it is safe to cross the street, remember to cross in front of the bus.

National School Bus Safety Week is held every year in the third week of October. For details, visit www.schoolbusinfo.org.

The theme of this year's observance is "Flashing Red Means Stop Ahead," emphasizing the importance of driver behavior in pedestrian safety at school bus stops. In Kansas, it is against the law to pass a stopped school bus from either direction.

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, Ellis, Ford, Franklin, Geary, Jackson, Jefferson, Johnson, Leavenworth, Marion, Meade, Mitchell, Montgomery, Nemaha, Osage, Pottawatomie, Republic, Rice, Riley, Saline, Smith, Shawnee, Wabaunsee, Wilson and Woodson Counties, as well as the cities of Chanute, Leavenworth, 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