School Bus Stop Safety Tips

"School Bus Stopping"
Credit: Those Guys, Flickr, Creative Commons

The best safety tip I could give a human about taking your dog with you to the school bus stop, especially on the first day of school is DON’T do it!  Leave Fido at home even after the first day of school.  WOOF!!!

My Crazy Uncle who drives one of those huge monster school buses for a large metropolitan school district tells the story of a dog that a parent brought to the bus stop.  “All of the excitement at the school bus stop is enough for a school bus driver to contend with-  you have children running in every direction, traffic to watch, the safety patrol, parents who often are not paying attention to anything other than their cute, sweet, darling little Jack and Jill! The first day of school is the worst because everyone is so excited about the new adventures coming in the school year so it’s added pressure for the bus driver without having anything else unnecessary added to it.  Well, one day, a parent brought their dog with them to the school bus stop.  One of our best drivers who has been driving since the very 

"School Bus and Students"
Credit: Pat00139, Flickr, Creative Commons

first school bus was invented- matter fact her first bus is in the Smithsonian Institution!  Well, she was unloading elementary students, as usual, at this stop, and had the safety patrol out for students crossing in front of the bus.  The patrol began to return to the sidewalk after the last student crossed when she noticed a dog got loose from its human. The human wasn't paying enough attention to the dog, so at first the human wasn't aware the dog was loose. The safety patrol immediately got the attention of the school bus driver to stop!  Thankfully, the bus driver and the safety patrol stopped a terribly awful accident from happening.“

I barked with my Crazy Uncle for a few more minutes, He advises:

·        When going to the bus stop, leave your dog at home.  There’s no reason to bring him and add to the already excited kids who will get more excited when they see a dog. 

·        The school buses in our county make the weirdest noises- air brake releases- which can be frightening to a dog causing him to run, jump, and maybe hurt himself or someone.

·        Some dogs see an open door to a vehicle and try to get in- it wouldn’t be a good idea for a dog to get on a school bus loaded full of students. Some students could be allergic and/or afraid.

·        A dog could become a distraction for the bus driver and cause her to make a tragic error.

·        Remember every school bus has a safety zone of a couple several feet around it- you need to be away for the bus and where the driver can see you and your children.

·        He emphasized, for safety’s sake, I’d say this about the best trained dogs too.

A few last thoughts for my friends who are heading off to school- I will be home waiting for you to come over and play fetch after school. RUFF!!

This post is based on a true incident.