For Parents Archives - Page 5 of 11

5 Smart Tips to Involve Parents In School Bus Transportation Issues

Posted on January 25, 2018 by TSB Super Admin

First and foremost, matters concerning school buses always constitute alarm to parents. For the simple fact that millions of children commute back and forth to school and home in the bright yellow colored school buses, school administrations should call for the active involvement of the parent community.

Nevertheless, it could be about the erratic or unruly behavior of a school bus driver or the issues concerning reckless driving, speeding or jumping signals or red lights. Otherwise, there will be lack of safety mechanisms in buses. All these issues should raise a red flag for parents and should be discussed before the occurrence of an untoward incident.

A Little Bit of Sensibility Goes a Long Way in Staying Safe

All for the sake of ensuring safe and comfortable rides to your wards, you as parents should take the responsibility to address the following concerns related to school bus transportation. Moreover, the following section sheds light on the general issues posed by school buses along with simple and workable solutions that the parents can implement every single day.

Waiting for the School Bus To Arrive

A plethora of planning goes behind chalking out school bus routes so that you as parents can pick and choose the route that is convenient for you. Of course, you can generate a well-informed decision by taking into consideration the various pickup and drop points and the distance between them to your home.

Given the fact that you should accompany your kids to the pickup point every single day, it requires certain amount of sensibility from your side to leave home at the right time so that you and your wards can reach the bus stop before the bus arrives.

Concern

A majority of the parents feels that students who come to the bus stop alone might rush to the stop if they are late. Arguably, in a mad rush, they would not be careful and vigilant towards the oncoming traffic. This haste might lead to accidents or injuries to kids.

A Simple Way Out

It is through RFID tags that parents can be notified about the exact location of their ward. Furthermore, with these safety devices, parents can heave a sigh of relief. They will be convinced that their child is in safe hands. Hence, the solution to the above issue should be able to exercise patience in children and wait in a secure place away from the road for the school bus to approach and pick them up.

Getting Into the School Bus

At times, students who are boarding their school bus can confront hazardous consequences if they are within the danger zone of the bus.

Concern

Hastening into a school bus can cause injury to students along with standing too close to the bus. Both these circumstances can be perilous for school kids.

A Simple Way Out

The onus is on parents to educate their wards regarding the safety instructions that need to be followed by their wards. As a parent, you should be able to instruct your wards to board the bus in a single queue, without pushing or rushing others. Since the driver cannot oversee children who are within the danger zone, you as parents should teach your kids to stay away from the danger zone. Another imperative directive that should be dinned into the minds of school children plying the school buses is that they require waiting for the bus to come to a grinding halt before they begin to board the bus.

The Use of Seat Belts Inside the Moving Bus

Life is so precarious that a normal bus journey can result in losing lives of several students who did not use the school bus seat belts.

Concern

Several parents vouch for the fact that the school buses ply without the essential safety mechanism; the seat belts. And even if there are seat belts in the bus, they cannot serve the purpose of protecting kids as they do not cross over the shoulders and laps of the kids.

A Simple Way Out

The parent community should reiterate the need for school bus seat belts as part of the safety and security measures of transportation. Meanwhile, talking to the management and expressing your concern to demand seat belts mandatory in every school bus can help every student on board to appreciate a comfortable and safe journey; day in and day out.

Alighting the School Bus

A kid who realizes that he dropped his properties under the bus will run towards the bus to pick them up. However, the driver would be unaware of this fact and will start the bus. This act of negligence can either lead to a genuine injury or an irreversible fatal condition.

Concern

As a matter of fact, parents are concerned about the distance between their wards and the danger zone of the bus. If students stand near the school bus even after getting down, they will hurt themselves.

A Simple Way Out

Parents can step in and impress upon their wards to adhere to certain safety tips after descending the school bus. In addition, educating students about the danger zones of a school bus is compulsory and when such safety rules come from parents themselves, kids will be all ears and implement them at all times.

Unruly Behavior of Fellow Students and the Driver

Kids will be boisterous engaging in constant chatter while being inside a running bus. Long and raucous conversations between kids along with childish arguments can be distracting to the driver. On the flip side, school children would narrate instances of unruly behavior coming from the bus driver. Either he would be attending to phone calls while at the wheel or would cross the speed limit of the bus. All these instances of dreadful behavior have a bearing on the safety of your kids and others as well.

Issue

Parents are concerned about their kids who put out their head and hands outside the moving school bus. At the same time, certain children drink and eat in the bus, which can lead to accidents when they slip on the dropped eatables. If the driver despise mischievous kids, he might use offensive language to stop them from talking.

A Simple Way Out

Ordinarily, the impish behavior of kids along with the unruly acts of the driver can be better dealt with by the parent community. For this reason, parents can form a group and represent their concerns to the school management.

In fact, when acts of unacceptable behavior expressed by a unanimous group is known by the management, you can accordingly ensure prompt disciplinary action to be taken against erring students or the driver in question. On the other hand, teaching students about how to behave inside the running school bus is another responsibility that parents should take along with insisting the appointment of a supervisor who would take care of the kids on the bus.

Conclusion

Given the important role-played by parents in inculcating safety and favorable behavior of their wards, they can also become the prime instruments of change. Consequently, tackling the above-mentioned concerns with regard to school bus transportation, sensible parents through their valuable inputs and suggestions can ensure safe and complacent journeys for kids at all times. Presumably, constant interactions and follow-ups with the school management about any issues that might arise will assist parents endorse the common “a stitch in time saves nine” maxim.

13 General Road Safety Rules for Kids

Posted on January 3, 2018 by TSB Super Admin

“Safety is more important than convenience”- Don Hambidge

Safety is a key concern for parents. As a parent, it is your responsibility to ensure the road safety for your kids. Nevertheless, you cannot always accompany your kids and guide them. Of course, parents ensure the safety of their child at home and teachers or school transportation authority ensure the kid’s safety in order to safeguard the credibility of the schools. Meanwhile, who will be responsible for kid’s safety on the roads?

Moreover, a majority of students will either walk to school or obtain the school transportation services. As a result, it is your duty to assert them regarding the merits of possessing essential safety skills.

Relevance of road safety rules for kids

As a matter of fact, children will not be mature enough to realize what is right or what is wrong, while walking on the roads. Without the appropriate guidance and awareness of road safety rules, it is risky to send children unaccompanied. Based on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration report, it was established that 3% of the people died on the road were children.

Furthermore, 480 kids expire constantly due to road related accidents every year. Apart from that, among 4884 pedestrians who died in accidents, 207 of them are kids. In addition, when it is regarding the safety of your kid, you will not be able to swiftly compromise it. Consequently, once they reach the grown up stage, you can impart the road safety education to children.

Check out the 13 basic road safety rules for kids:

1. Aware of the road signals

Assist your kid to learn the traffic lights and signs. Check out the relevance of each color:

Green light is an indication for “go”- Whenever the signal turns green, the vehicle can move ahead
Red light is an indication “to stop”- All the vehicles have to stop, when the red light is on
Yellow light is an indication “to slow down”- When the yellow light turns on, you should slow down your vehicle and prepare to stop
“Walking man” signal at intersections are constructed for the pedestrians. Recall the fact that you will be authorized to cross the road only when the signal turns green. Ensure that there are no vehicles, both on the left and right side of the road
Never attempt to cross the road, if the signboard signifies “Don’t walk” message or the walking symbol turns red

At times, a hand symbol is displayed instead of “walking man” symbol or “walk” signals. Teach the kids regarding it and if possible render them an awareness of the other essential traffic signals.

2. Stop, look, and cross

In fact, students will either walk to school or to the bus stop for waiting their respective school bus. The only task of students is to cross the road prudently, right after the school bus drops them off. Hence, you should undertake the responsibility to provide adequate guidance for crossing the road cautiously.

Teach them to be aware of various road signs and recommend them to utilize the zebra crossing while crossing the road. If there are no markings or signs, the following procedures can be worthwhile:

Check the right side, after that to the left side of the road for the incoming vehicles
If you notice a vehicle is approaching, wait for the vehicle to pass and then safely cross the road
Do not cross the road at the turns, it is unsafe
Never cross the road between the stopped vehicles

However, accompaniment is required for the children aged below 6 years and you should compulsorily hold their hands while crossing the road.

3. Listen

Educate the child to be extra vigilant while they cross the road at the turns. As a consequence, listening can only aid them. For this reason, instruct your child to listen and ensure whether a vehicle is approaching or not. Ordinarily, vehicles apply horns at turns and at unmanned intersections to provide a warning to other road users. Meanwhile, you can interpret the following instances to your child:

If a horn is heard, stop and cross only after ensuring that no vehicle approaches you from left or right side of the road
Ask them to keenly heed the vehicle engine sounds close-by. Inform them that if the sound is faint, it is away from you and if the sound is loud, it is nearing you

4. Don’t rush on roads

Children will not be tolerant and have a tendency to dash across the road to reach the other side. In addition, children become absent-minded when they are having fun and henceforth bound across or along the road. Furthermore, they will be effortlessly distracted and leave your hand to dart or sprint away. Therefore, teach your child to remain placid while they are near the road.

5. Relevance of Sidewalks

Persuade your child to avail the service of sidewalks whenever they walk on the road. Demonstrate your child how to cross the road safely. Motivate them to avail the sidewalks even though it is not a busy street.

6. Crossroads and pedestrian crossings

Kids will have a tendency to scoot across the street. This will become particularly perilous since vehicles will never slow down unless there is a cross road or relevant signal. Notify your kid to cross only at intersections and avail the pedestrian crossings. If there is no crossroad or pedestrian crossing, you can admonish your child to comply the rules mentioned above.

7. Place the hands inside the vehicle

In the mean time, a multitude of kids have the habit of placing their hands outside the vehicle while it is moving. At times, they will lay their head out and wave with exhilaration. This is a familiar sight among the school bus students. Nevertheless, these behaviors can have significant consequences. Due to carelessness, they will be injured by vehicles, which advances from the opposite direction.

8. Never cross road at bends

Bends are evidently the blind spot for motorists. When you attempt to cross at bends, the driver will be unable to recognize you and stop the car at the right time. As a result, kids will be hurt while crossing at bends.

9. Remain safe on a bicycle

If your kid rides bicycle to reach the school, ensure that they adhere to the following cycling rules:

Compel them to wear a helmet while riding a bicycle
Check the working condition of bicycle before starting the trip- you should thoroughly inspect brakes, light, etc.
Utilize the bicycle lane. If such a lane does not exist, ride the bike either on the extreme left or right side of the road and glide along with the traffic. While cycling, have a consideration for bulky vehicles
Apply headlights if the cycling area is not properly lightened and at night, and hence cyclists can be conveniently noticed by others
Never permit your child to ride on congested streets without your supervision

10. Staying safe in a moving vehicle

In a moving vehicle, you can ensure the kid’s safety with the assistance of a seat belt. Let them practice the following safety rules in your absence:

Never stand, stroll or sprint inside a moving vehicle
Remain seated and hold the rails on the seats until the school bus halts
Do not put your body part outside the moving vehicle

11. Get off the vehicle at the curb side

Ask your kid to memorize the following safety tips and conform to the rules while they descend from the school bus:

Ensure that you reach the bus stop prior to the scheduled bus timing in order to avert the circumstance of running behind the school bus
Form a queue to board or descend the school bus
Disembark the school bus at the curbside in order to evade unnecessary endangerment and hindrance to other vehicles

12. Be visible, remain safe

It is advisable to not to wear black clothes at night. Safety is a key consideration for everyone and hence your kid should be seen or noticed by drivers. To be noticed, it is wise to follow the procedures given below:

Insist your kid to wear reflective materials or light colored attires while strolling or cycling at night
Convince your kids regarding the relevance of wearing bright colored clothes during daytime
If possible, wave towards the incoming vehicle to indicate your presence on the road

13. Don’t surge

Children display over-enthusiasm whenever they need to meet someone or reach the desired destination. Teach your kids the following tips:

Rushing while you board or descend the vehicle can be increasingly hazardous
Never distract yourself or children as it can cause menacing results
Be calm and don’t surge while walking on the street
Never allow them to close the vehicle doors abruptly and guide them to shut the door only with the driver’s authority
Do not permit them to play either in the bus bay or on the roads

Road Safety Awareness: Why is it Essential for School Kids

Posted on December 28, 2017 by TSB Super Admin

“A child who learns about traffic rules and road discipline will grow up to be a law-abiding citizen. The habit of obeying traffic rules teaches a person a sense of responsibility, empathy for others and respecting the other person’s rights,” – The Hindu

Children become the lamentable victims in road accidents due to lack of awareness. Hence, educating the children can be a crucial task since it is dealt with ensuring the safety of future generation.

In fact, the question is how to educate them? When you schedule awareness classes for children, ensure that it is coherent and specific. By rendering awareness, you will obtain a responsible future generation, who prioritize road safety above all.

Road Safety for School Kids

Nevertheless, it is never early to educate your children regarding road safety rules and thus usher them to be “street smart”.

Transform learning into a fun activity

First and foremost, for teaching the children efficiently, learning should be made an amusing and interactive activity. Why? Strangely enough, children will be distracted swiftly without a specific reason and will be engaged in their own world. Let’s check out certain techniques by which you can retrieve their attention:

Generate a map encompassing your child’s walking route, street names, and relevant landmarks
Conduct quiz whenever you stroll out with your child. Inquire the rules related to crosswalks and intersection and assist the kids to decipher the relevance of road signals
Arrange a game that motivates the child to follow your footsteps

Provide a demonstration to your kid

Here follows certain basic safety tips that will become worthwhile to you:

The rules to be followed while walking on the road

Comply the rule “left-right-left” before crossing the road. Maintain eye contact with drivers and ensure that no vehicle is close-by
Remove your headphone and listen. By listening, you will be able to realize whether a vehicle is approaching you or not
Stroll at the inside edge of the sidewalk, which is away from the road. If sidewalk

doesn’t exist in that road, walk in the direction of oncoming traffic in such a way that you can have a clear view of the vehicles approaching you

Remain visible. Clothe yourself with reflective materials or bright clothes. Utilize flashlights or stay under street lights after dark
Never practice jaywalking

The rules to be followed while driving your vehicle

Control your vehicle speed. Realize that 30km/h speed is permitted during school hours and remain vigilant since your kid is observing all your deeds
Have ample patience. Drop your child near the sidewalk. Never allow them to dash from the middle of the road
Adhere to the safety laws. Have a consideration for other road users and school buses, especially when the lights are flashing

Relevance of Road Safety Awareness

Consequently, the rising city traffic and rural areas of the country has evidently increased the relevance of road safety education. Moreover, the road safety programs require the constant participation from students, and only with their participation, the road safety education become successful.

Meanwhile, the road safety education intends to provide awareness and impart education regarding the traffic rules to students. In addition, it is your responsibility to compel them to follow rules both as pedestrian and motorists. Furthermore, you can teach them to promptly contact the relevant authorities such as medical or transport aid, especially during adverse circumstances.

In the meantime, road safety awareness is a team responsibility of students, teacher, school authorities, and parents. At the same time, each of them has had a unique role in rendering the safety awareness to students. As a parent and teacher, you should serve as a paradigm of the “ideal road user” to the students.

Thus, for instance,

While crossing the bustled streets, you should compulsorily hold the hands of your kids and forbid them running or walking ahead
Teach them to be aware of the ideal time to safely cross the road
Insist them to stay beside you, away from the road traffic
Emphasize the essential safety tips, which enable children to remain attentive on the road while crossing the busy roads
Advise them to choose the apt and safe place to cross the road
Provide a brief awareness of various road signs and motivate them to decide the right time to cross the road
Recount the essential safety rules in simple terms

Ask the following questions to your kid:

Where is the safest place to cross the road?
Before crossing the road, what is the mandatory activity that should be committed?
Is there a need for holding hands while crossing the road together?
Which is the excellent time to cross the road safely?
At what juncture, should you listen to vehicle sounds?

Presumably, while crossing the road, it is wise to construe each activity performed by you to your kids. Therefore, kid will recognize the significance of each safety rule.

10 Essential Facts on Road Safety [Infographic]

Posted on December 22, 2017 by TSB Super Admin

Road accident and injury will be an immense threat to road users, especially children. Hence, as a responsible citizen, it is your responsibility to safeguard the future generation and focus on the safety practices. Nevertheless, the number of vehicles on the road is rising day by day frantically.

The only precaution against it is to implement the modern technology and adhere to the safety rules. However, it is a fact that majority of the victims of road related hazards are the two-wheeler users. Over speeding, imperfect roads, and violation of safety rules are the dominant reasons for hazards.

Meanwhile, the road safety is a shared responsibility and you need to have a commitment and decision making skills to accomplish the safety goals. As a matter of fact, one can predict road traffic crashes and can take precautions before it happens.

Check out the 10 essential facts on road safety and be prepared for the adverse circumstances:

12 Essential Features of a School Bus Tracker App

Posted on November 14, 2017 by TSB Super Admin

School bus tracking is considered to be a popular term among the school authorities. With the school bus tracker app, your child will be able to experience enhanced safety and security. Consequently, parents, teachers, and other school transportation authorities obtain real-time data regarding the whereabouts of their kid via SMS and push notifications.

Here follows the essential features of a school bus tracker app:

School bus attendance

Usually, recording school bus attendance of each student is a tedious and tiresome task. The app records the child's attendance four times a day- when the student boards and descends the school bus, both in the morning and evening. However, without contacting the relevant authorities, parents will be able to view the attendance of their child through their app.

Route planning

With the support of tracker apps, you will be able to schedule the routes, choose the shortest route, and examine the chosen route. Also, the app enables the school authorities to avoid heavy traffic areas, construction areas, and hazardous areas. In addition to this, the school bus drivers will be able to confirm the route, and decide the number of stops in a single trip.

Track the real-time location of vehicle

When your child board the school bus, parents will be able to track their real-time location and monitor the route followed by the school bus driver. With the details, you can reach the pick up point location promptly.

Instant notifications

The tracker app intends to provide different kinds of notification- notification for over speeding, attendance, unscheduled stops, whenever your child boards or descends the bus, etc. And, thus you can have a detailed summary of your child's school bus trip.

Enhanced communication

With the introduction of a school bus tracker app, you will be able to augment the rapport between drivers, parents, and other school transportation officials. Meanwhile, you can communicate with them anytime from anywhere, without personally meeting them.

Details on pick up and drop point

Nevertheless, the drivers can procure the next destination details via the app along with the image and details of each student. Of course, whenever you confirm the trip, it will be transferred to the trip history. And, with the map feature, even the minute details of the trip can be retrieved effortlessly.

Veracious and error-free details

All the details received via the app will be accurate and devoid of errors. Once the student board the bus, you can view the details regarding their attendance and whereabouts in the real-time.

Announcements

Announcement feature is available for every modern school bus tracker app. With this remarkable feature, transportation managers as well as school authorities can send announcements to drivers whenever they desire. Furthermore, students will receive the birthday announcement whenever they board the school bus.

Recenter facility

This is a brand new feature in a school bus tracker app. With this feature, you can instantly update the pick up point whenever there is a relocation. And the new pick up point will be updated in the app until there is a further modification.

Pick-up point optimization

The pick-up point optimization feature enables you to update the pick up point based on the actual pick up point. Meanwhile, the pick up location will be altered in case of relocation.

Manifest feature

This innovative feature assists you to acquire details on pick up location, access route diagram indicating pick-up point location, list of students inside a school bus, etc. For instance, if a particular student is on leave, his/her pick-up details will not be displayed in the app.

Efficient school bus fleet management

With this feature, transport managers can check the scheduled trip for the next 3 hours. Moreover, they can also select the optimized school bus routes, appoint drivers, and allocate students for each school bus, monitor fleets, check the vehicle health, approve pick-up points, etc. effectively.

As a matter of fact, all the above mentioned features reinforce the school transportation services. With the advent of school bus tracker apps, the school bus operation became simple, feasible, and manageable.

Essential Things Parents Should Know About School Bus Routing

Posted on November 9, 2017 by TSB Super Admin

School bus routing is a complicated process and intends to have a greater priority since it constitutes a vital role in ensuring student safety. Meanwhile, it demands proper planning and organization. Hence, it's high time for the parents to convince the gravity of the routing issue.

Ordinarily, the factors that should be considered while scheduling school bus routes include school bus capacity, the amount of riding hours spent by a student, and starting/ending time of schools.

Nevertheless, school bus routing is a prominent aspect in ensuring school bus safety. Presumably, school bus is the safest vehicle for ferrying school students. Moreover, you will definitely check for flashing lights, mirrors, high seat backs, readily detectable yellow paints, etc., which ensure additional safety for your children.

Notable facts on school buses

Millions of school buses exist all around the world

Each school bus eliminates approximately 36 cars on the road

School buses can prevent the utilization of 17 million cars on the road

A total of 346,666,660 car miles is saved by the school transportation

However, with the modern tracking apps, you will be able to monitor the school bus trip whenever you desire. In addition to this, you will also be able to procure data on the child's bus routing via the tracking apps. Based on these data, you can decide whether the school bus route is safe for your child or not. Apart from this, you will be able to receive real-time notification whenever there is a delay for the school bus transportation.

How to identify the safest bus stop near your residing location?

While deciding the bus stop, have a close consideration for the school bus safety. Consequently, an efficient school bus routing involves the procedure of determining the appropriate and safe bus stop for children, parents as well as drivers. Here follows certain tips for identifying the safest bus stop in your residing area:

Elude multi-lane roads
Try to avoid the bus route with railroad crossings
Select the bus stop that renders sufficient visibility for drivers and other road users
Choose the school bus routes with comparatively less traffic
Avoid the bus stops having the need to turn left hand side (it is a dangerous and risky task for school bus drivers)
Ignore the bus stops that require reversing of the school bus
Choose the bus stop near side stops in your residing area
Select the location with enough lighting during the early morning and early evening hours.

Recognize the merits of school bus routing software

Technology revolutionized the school bus transportation. As a responsible parent, it is your duty to recognize the latest features of school bus routing software. Here is a list of features that can be associated with the school bus routing software:

Permit different users to view, alter, and handle information
Automatically assign pick up and drop points of students
Plan school bus transportation
Route optimization and pick up point optimization
Obtain historical data of school bus routing
Generate annual maintenance data
Effortless installation procedure
Reports on daily pick up and drop
Setting up a calendar for each school
Ability to incorporate additional details on school bus routing maps

As a parent, your prime concern will be to safeguard your school kid from possible dangers. Hence, it is wise to acquire knowledge regarding the school bus routing concerns and the latest technologies that have been implemented in the school bus routing.

How to Choose the Best Bus Stop Location for School Bus Students?

Posted on October 27, 2017 by TSB Super Admin

Choosing the school bus stop for picking up and dropping children is one of the complicated tasks that the school fleet managers often encounter. Nevertheless, with the improved fleet management software and devices, the task is easier, although certain guidelines need to be followed:

1. Pick traffic routes with less traffic and lower traffic speed, so that the bus stops can be effortlessly managed

2. Stops should be chosen such that children and parents have sufficient space to walk along the sides of the road to reach the stop. It would be apt if they have separate pedestrian pathways for keeping the children away from the traffic

3. Stops, which require the school vehicle to turn away suddenly from the main road need to be avoided, especially the ones which require a left turn en route in those countries with right-handed driving rules. This is because the driver’s vision will be limited in those cases and can result in accidents

4. Consider the number of students at each bus stop. If there are numerous children at a particular bus stop, it might result in behavioural problems. When the number of children is below average, it might not be economically viable for the school bus fleets. Fleet managers need to form decisions after considerable analysis and the latest software will provide adequate support in decision-making. Hence, it is advisable to select the bus stops based on algorithms, with a close consideration of all these factors

5. Safety of the students should be considered. Nevertheless, while selecting the bus stop, protection from rain and sunshine should be provided. Moreover, confirm that students are able to reach the bus stop in extreme conditions such as heavy snowfall. Well-lit areas should be chosen in case the bus timings are early in the morning or late in the nights. Ideally, long travelling hours must be avoided for children at all times

6. Distance from the children’s homes to the bus stop and travel time should also be considered. If it is extremely high, it would be advisable to re-route the bus. For kindergarten students, pick up and drop at doorsteps should be provided wherever possible

7. Allocating bus stops around the corners, nearer to the zebra crossings or traffic signals should be avoided. Alighting and boarding the bus at such hazardous areas would be troublesome for the kids. Consequently, stops should not be fixed near the railroads or crossings.

8. Multi-lane roads also tend to have an enormous volume of vehicle traffic and hence it is wise to avoid it. Also, ensure that there is no need for the vehicles to reverse for approaching the stopping bay. The rear vision will be limited to the drivers and ordinarily not advisable for kids

9. In case, such conditions cannot be met absolutely, seek the assistance of the traffic authorities to place appropriate sign posts and boards so as to facilitate the students. Seek local support from parents or adults, who can act accordingly as cross guards or traffic volunteers to assist in such dangerous places.

10. The pedestrians should have a clear visibility of the oncoming traffic. Drivers should be able to view the students waiting at the bus stop in the mornings and also ensure that students waiting at the stops should also be able to view the drivers.

11. There is a 12 foot rule requirement stipulated by several countries, which mentions that the students and parents should stand at least 12 feet away from the roadway. This is based on the “sight-vision-distance” required according to scientists. However, the requirement will be modified, based on the need to enhance the field of vision.

12. Stops should be chosen away from commercial establishments and parks wherever possible.

13. Consider the state rules, regulations and policies regarding the fixing of bus stops. Adhere to them without fail and seek assistance in needy cases. Moreover, it would be wise to establish signs and stop boards after seeking permission from traffic authorities.

Step by Step Procedure for Child Road Safety

Posted on October 24, 2017 by TSB Super Admin

Road safety for Children can be ensured by the systematic and pragmatic approach in implementing the rules of traffic in society. In addition, the enforcement of traffic rules should be done in a phased manner so as to include all the people, with special emphasis on children. Nevertheless, children are most vulnerable on the roads to be accident victims because of their age, ignorance and playful nature.

This issue can be solved by taking some actions to educate and enforce traffic rules.

1. Road safety lessons for children

Teach them young and they will learn for a lifetime. This is true even for traffic rules. Moreover, lessons on traffic rules and road safety practices should be taught as a part of the curriculum. And it enhances the knowledge of traffic rules among kids, which teaches them to safeguard themselves on the road. It will also serve as a strong base for building a sensible future generation following traffic rules.

2. Road safety Games, mock drills and Traffic Park visits

Mere teaching of lessons will not be enough to instill practical and effective knowledge on traffic rules. As a matter of fact, road safety games, mock traffic drills, and visit to nearby Traffic Parks can fill this void. Ordinarily, children will receive hands-on experience in real life scenario to further strengthen their knowledge of traffic rules.

3. First Aid lessons and volunteer assistance

Schools can also make it mandatory for the students to learn basic first aid lessons in case of accidents so that lives can be saved and injuries can be minimal. As a result, elder children can be volunteered for managing traffic near the school vicinity during rush hours along with police personnel.

4. Seek public and Government support in ensuring road safety for children.

School authorities can approach governmental agencies like traffic police personnel for ensuring road safety for children near the schools during the peak traffic times. In fact, public support can also be sought to ensure road safety for children.

5. Request Traffic Department for installing traffic signs and symbols near school vicinity

School management can also request the traffic department for installing traffic signs and symbols at the vicinity of the school considering the safety of the kids. At the same time, they can also seek assistance of a traffic police personnel near the school for the kids to cross the road safely.

5. Provide RFID tags to all children

RFID technology can be incorporated into the identity cards of children for better monitoring of kids inside the school premises as well as during their journey to school. As a consequence, the RFID tags can be read with a scanner unit installed in the buses, which then sends the data to the parents or educators.

6. Install GPS trackers in school transportation vehicles

The RFID tags will not be fully effective if the parents /educators cannot know the whereabouts of the school bus. Furthermore GPS trackers installed in school buses assists you to locate the position of the vehicle based on satellite data and transmit the same for public awareness. The data can be read with the support of a GPS enabled Smartphone

7. Develop and offer Smartphone based apps or PUSH notifications to parents and educators on the whereabouts of children

Specific apps catering to the parents/educators on road safety for children can be developed and implemented. PUSH notifications can be advantageous when parents do not prefer app installation and data usage. However, the PUSH mail services share the information via SMS and do not require specific apps.

8. Create societal awareness on the need to provide our children safer roads to travel

All the efforts by Governmental agencies, school authorities, and parents will be effective only if public participation is ensured. There should be focus-driven drives for creating awareness on road safety for children by all these nodal agencies at regular intervals. Similar to the enforcement of other rules, there should be a dedicated effort to safeguard the children on the roads. Meanwhile, pamphlets, awareness drives, FM ads, billboards, etc. can meet the goal if properly implemented.

9. Parental monitoring

Parental monitoring will be the only option available to ensure child road safety when the children walk or resort to private modes of transport to reach school.

Ways Unsafe School Bus Driving Can Cost You

Posted on October 13, 2017 by TSB Super Admin

Transportation means and modes have considerably increased over the past few years. Yet the basic infrastructure facilities have not risen correspondingly. The NCRB data show that around 400 deaths out of 1374 accidents, which take place every day on Indian roads. Children below the age of 18 occupy around 10.5% of these fatalities per day. Such statistical figures invariably raise the question of safety measures taken for children on Indian roads.

Majority of the school students commute by school bus. In fact, some schools make it mandatory for the kids to travel by school bus. In such a scenario, the safety of our children is entirely dependent on the drivers and management of schools for all practical purposes.

A recent surprise check on drunken driving led to the arrest of around 36 school bus drivers from four districts of Kerala. The incident revealed the rampant nature among school bus drivers to ignore the rules of safety especially while driving the school buses.

Students, Parents and educators should have an awareness on the road safety rules and regulations. This would render the consequences of unsafe and erratic driving.

1. Driving without legal authorization

The driver of the school bus must have a valid License permitting him to ride LMV transport vehicles for the duration of four years at the least. They must wear a uniform while on duty and the name ID should be displayed on the uniform. Drivers should be legally authorized by the school authorities for driving the bus in case of school buses. Failure to do so can invoke section 197 of the Motor vehicle Act, which prescribes a fine of Rs. 500 or imprisonment up to 3 months, or both.

2. Cancellation of permit

The permit holder, that is, school authorities for school bus can be canceled or driver license can be revoked in cases of accidents involving fatalities.

3. Censure /Warnings/Fines from traffic department

Fines range from Rs. 100- Rs.300 for mild offenses involving the physical defects such as number plate offenses and parking violations. Consequently, offenses related to license and non maintenance of vehicles are usually fined with Rs.500- Rs. 1000 and/or imprisonment up to 3 months.

A major portion of accidents result from faulty vehicles. Nevertheless, driving without a valid vehicle fitness certificate can cost you a fine of Rs.2000-Rs 5000 along with/without the imprisonment of 3 months even in the first instance itself.

However, reckless driving can cause you to be fined approximately Rs.1000 and/or imprisonment around six months. In such instances, the driver can be arrested on the spot.

4. Cancellation of Registration of vehicle

As a matter of fact, transport Authorities can even propose to cancel the registration of the vehicle if the vehicle is found to be in a condition, which constitutes a grave public danger while on roads. Hence, old and defective buses which are beyond repairable conditions cannot be used as school buses, whatever be the circumstance.

5. Lose job

Usually school bus drivers are employed without any background checks by authorities. Such instances are changing now, thanks to the awareness programs on road safety rules and regulations organized at regular intervals by the Motor Vehicle Department. As a result, the non-compliant behavior can therefore lead to loss of job for the drivers.

Serial offenders can lose jobs . The legal hurdles and court procedures can add up to the woes accordingly. Moreover, the lost goodwill can also harm your reputation.

9. Legal hassles for schools in case of non-compliance

School bus authorities should be committed follow the instructions given by the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles Department at regular intervals to refresh knowledge on road safety rules and regulations among drivers. They also need to undergo training and refresher programs conducted by the Motor Vehicle Department. Ordinarily, failure to comply with the requirements and serial offenses can lead to court procedures and legal hassles for the school authorities.

CBSE has made it mandatory for school buses to install GPS trackers and CCTV cameras. CCTV footage should be kept mandatory for at least 60 days and submitted to legal authorities when needed.

Ultimately, it is your responsibility to adhere to the safety regulations, which otherwise takes the innocent lives and thus result in heavy penalties.

Should Parents Pay for School Buses?

Posted on September 25, 2017 by TSB Super Admin

Most modern day working parents depend a lot on school buses to transport their children safely to and from schools. More often than not, they are also happy to pay a reasonable amount for their children’s safety. But, at a time when a parent pay various fee to schools, is it necessary for them to pay separately for school buses, or should schools take up the responsibility?

The cost of living of various cities and districts across the globe is registering a constant rise. Trickling down to the costs that need to be incurred by parents to educate their wards, the caregiver fraternity is also experiencing a pinch to their pockets. Typically coming in the form of paying for school bus transportation, this would be an additional burden on parents when they are troubled with unreasonable school bus fees.

And if you are a parent, you will have to allocate an additional amount every month just to transport your child to and from school. Imagine a situation when you as the head of a family of four members have to pay for the school bus charges of two kids. Wouldn’t this be an additional drain to your monthly income? Surely! This is definitely a matter of financial concern to parents with kids who are still pursuing their kindergarten, primary and secondary education.

The concept behind “free education”

Let’s take the example of public schools in the United States. They are governed by the rule of providing free education to students. This advantage to parents comes through taxation funds that are used completely or partially by educational institutions which come under the umbrella of state or local governments.

Till such time their wards pass out with a post-secondary education certificate, parents who opt for public school education are spared of the tuition fees. In this scenario, paying the school bus fees can be a matter of debate between schools and parents.

The Story Behind the “Pay to Ride School Bus” Motto

Falling short of taxation funds that the government gets through taxes from the common man, schools in many districts are extracting funds under the head of “school busing costs”. Troubled by insufficient budgets schools are currently facing, cost-cutting comes as the last resort to school authorities to fill the deficit.

And the segment which took the beating is the school bus transportation department. Drifting away from the service of free transportation to students who lived far away from school or those that could not walk down to their school, school buses became a paid service; much to the dissatisfaction of parents and students as well.

All in an attempt to compensate for the free services of books and public school education, schools are contemplating to fix a price tag to transportation as part of the school bus cost per student. With an increase in the class room strength coupled with the salaries of teachers, a township school was reported to offer a transportation discount to the sibling of a student already studying in the same school. While the elder child was asked to pay an annual school bus fee of $475, his/her younger sibling would be offered a discount of about $70, with $405 as the transportation cost that will be included in the school fees collection format in excel.

Another scenario that was unveiled by schools was to opt for a monthly payment of school bus fees in contrast to the annual payment schedule. Roping in students who can benefit from the “free and subsidized lunch program”, a school in Texas came up with a discounted school bus fee for the second child. But this benefit comes with a caveat. It is only when students produced their identification cards which have the details of their timely fee payments that they will be allowed to avail the school bus ride services.

Arguments of Parents Debating the Pricey School Bus Rides

Given the free education that is imparted by public schools across the United States, an important question “Should parents pay for school buses?” comes to the fore. When parents are finding it difficult to match the rising costs, this transportation cost definitely pinches their pockets. As retaliation, there were arguments of concern against the move of paid school bus services.

Here are some of them.

Parents argued that they would have opted for a home closer to school rather than pay the hefty school bus fee.
Children who walk to school are vulnerable when they cannot handle an exigency. Schools which do not employ crossing guards or those which are devoid of sidewalks pose serious risks to students.
Traffic concerns will crop up when more and more families will opt for private vehicles rather than enroll for a school bus service. And with rising traffic comes the additional burden of hiring traffic administrators to control the same. Isn’t this a financial burden on the state authorities that will outweigh the cost of offering free transportation to students? Undoubtedly, it is!
Time is money! When you as a parent will shy away from enrolling your kids to daily school bus rides, you will have to stay at the wheel for nothing less than 30 to 45 minutes. Losing out on your productive time, you will also have to incur fuel costs. While both these factors bring down your revenue, the state eventually will face the brunt with a weaker tax base.
Low income families are the worst hit when a school fees card samplementions the amount of school bus fee as part of their monthly expenditure. Majorly impacting families which are bogged down by financial constraints, aren’t they at a loss when they have to think twice to get their wards educated?
In what way is the public school concept of free education benefiting them? Is the state doing all that it can to meet the “Right to Education” objective?
Tagged as a service, a school bus ride should come as a freebie to students. And when a price tag is attached to such a noble service, the state is defaulting in its long-term intention of creating a citizen-friendly form of governance.
Families will begin to relocate themselves to different school districts governed by a parent-friendly administration.

The Purse-Friendly Alternatives to Expensive School Bus Rides

In keeping with the above mentioned concerns about school bus transportation costs, here is a list of budget-friendly options that can be employed by you to balance your income and expenditure.

Patronizing metropolitan buses to transport your wards to and from school
The use of commuter trains
Choosing a school connected by subways
Carpooling is another alternative to cut down on fuel expenses. You can also save time.
Last but not the least, you can make the most of walking your kids to school or to get your ward a bicycle. These two come in as cheap and best alternatives to the rising school bus costs that will be included as part of your annual expenditure of tending to your family.

Final Words

While the benefit of “free education” is an attraction to parents whose kids are enrolled into public schools, the rising daily school bus ride costs is an issue that needs to be addressed. Setting aside dollars to fend for school transportation costs will mean a sad yet true scenario when you as a parent are forced to decide between a healthy meal and a safe school bus ride for your kids.