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The American School Bus Council Celebrates 40th Anniversary of School Bus Safety Week

Posted on: Monday, 16 October 2006, 09:00 CDT

WASHINGTON, Oct. 16 /PRNewswire/ -- The American School Bus Council will be celebrating the 40th anniversary of School Bus Safety Week October 15-21, 2006. Activities highlighting the importance of school bus safety awareness and education are scheduled throughout school districts nationwide.

The theme for School Bus Safety Week 2006, I See the Driver -- The Driver Sees Me, emphasizes the importance and benefits of school bus driver training and encourages students across the country to obey school bus safety rules while waiting at the bus stop and getting on and off the school bus each day.

"School bus transportation is the safest form of ground transportation available -- and 80 times safer than traveling to school in a family vehicle - - however, occasional accidents still happen," said Lenny Bernstein, President of the National Association for Pupil Transportation.

To those who work in the school bus industry, and to the millions of parents who entrust their children to the yellow school bus industry, no injury or fatality is acceptable.

In July, the United States House of Representatives unanimously passed House Resolution 498, by a vote of 418-0, which honors the goals and ideas of School Bus Safety Week.

"School bus safety is an ongoing concern among legislators, school districts and parents nationwide," said Rep. John J. Duncan, Jr. (R-Tenn.), sponsor of the resolution. "By passing legislation to support goals for School Bus Safety Week, we are encouraging individuals and communities around the country to proactively educate and promote initiatives to ensure the safety of the Nation's school children as they ride to and from school each day."

"More than 25 million of the nation's children are transported daily to and from school on yellow school buses," said John Corr, president of the National School Transportation Association. "Ensuring their safety is a top priority, and the Council will continue to work with local and state legislators to establish federal funding to support school bus safety initiatives."

Celebrated the third week of October each year, School Bus Safety Week promotes awareness on the local and state level through poster and speech contests, distribution of school bus safety community awareness toolkits, and other activities to raise awareness of school bus safety issues. The national theme for School Bus Safety Week is selected by transportation officials each year from the top poster contest winner from each state entry.

"Promoting the importance of school bus safety to parents, educators and children is a top priority of the Council," said Pete Japikse, president of the National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation. "As the unified voice of the school bus industry, the Council will continue to support the efforts of School Bus Safety Week to increase the value and benefit of school bus safety education and prevention."

The Council offers the following tips for school bus riders: * Be alert to traffic. Check both ways for cars before stepping off the bus. * Make eye contact with the bus driver, and wait for the bus driver's signal before crossing the street. * Walk in front of the bus; never walk behind the bus to cross the street. * While waiting for the bus, stay in a safe place away from the street. * Before leaving the sidewalk, look for the flashing red lights. * Never go under the bus to retrieve something you've dropped.

Additionally, school bus drivers in each jurisdiction are trained to see the students from different viewing angles and to count the number of students at each stop.

About School Bus Safety Week

School Bus Safety Week -- established in 1966 by the National Association for Pupil Transportation, National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation Services, National School Transportation Association and supported by the NHTSA -- educates students, parents and the motoring public about the safety of our nation's children who are transported daily on yellow school buses. This week also recognizes the hard work and dedication of school professionals, especially the school bus drivers who ensure a safe journey for our children each and every day. For more information about School Bus Safety Week please visit http://www.napt.org/.

About American School Bus Council

American School Bus Council represents a unified voice of the school transportation industry, including the public sector, the private sector and the manufacturing segment -- the more than 450,000 yellow school buses transporting 25 million children to and from school each day -- and is committed to providing safe, effective, efficient and healthy transportation for our nation's schoolchildren. Its members include National Association for Pupil Transportation (NAPT), National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation Services (NASDPTS), National School Transportation Association (NSTA), Bluebird Corp. of Fort Valley, Ga., IC Corporation of Warrenville, Ill. and Thomas Built Buses of High Point, N.C. For more information about the American School Bus Council please visit http://www.americanschoolbuscouncil.org/.

American School Bus Council

CONTACT: Jennifer Rose-Utley, +1-202-530-4599, for American School BusCouncil

Web site: http://www.americanschoolbuscouncil.org/http://www.napt.org/

Source: PRNewswire

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