Safety On and Around the Bus

Your Safety First!

Here is some advice on safety when taking the bus, as well as the proper way to evacuate a bus in an emergency.

Safety Rules

  • Make sure to be early: if you are running to catch the bus, you will forget to apply all the rest of these rules, so make sure to be at your stop 5 minutes in advance
  • Be expected and be visible: vehicle drivers are going much faster than you and have a lot of blind spots, so make sure to be where they should expect you to be
  • Walk on the sidewalks: that is where everyone else on the street expects you to be, it is your safe spot
  • Use the pedestrian crossings: if you have to cross a street, make sure you are paying attention to the vehicles coming and that they see you
  • Stay away from the edges of the sidewalk: don’t play close to the street, and do not run after a ball or any other toy that may drop onto the street
  • Be attentive to your surroundings: playing on your phone, reading, listening to music or even chatting can distract you! Make sure you are always paying attention
  • Wait for the bus to stop completely: the bus may need to start moving again, and the bus driver may not see you
  • Hold your backpack in your hands: the central corridor of the bus is not very wide, and you can hurt someone already seated by turning around if it remains on your back
  • Immediately find a seat and sit properly once on the bus: the longer you take to sit down, the more delay the bus has to reach the school or get you home
  • Keep your bag under your seat: your bag might move around and hurt someone if the bus has to break in an emergency
  • Never put anything in the corridor: it is a trip hazard for everyone getting on the bus after you and is not secured if the bus needs to break quickly
  • Always put your seatbelt on and remain seated: if your bag can be moved from an emergency break, then so can you!
  • Keep your volume down: loud or sudden noises can affect the bus driver’s focus. Driving requires constant attention – by distracting the driver, you are putting yourself and everyone else in the bus at risk
  • Be respectful, be nice: the bus driver and monitor are here to help you, listen to their instructions
  • Wait for the bus to stop completely: the bus may need to start moving again, and you will be moved about which may injure you
  • Wait for the bus to leave before you cross the street: cars will not see you if you cross in front of the bus, and some will try to speed past the bus
  • Always keep your distance from moving buses: buses have many blind spots, and you are much smaller than a bus. The driver cannot see you while manoeuvring
  • Keep to the pedestrian paths: there is always a lot of traffic during the school’s start and end of the day, so make sure to pay attention
Illustration from the ICB Institute displaying the different blind spots of a bus: behind the bus, close to the front below the bus drivers seat, close to the sides, and
On the right are the 6 main safety rules to follow:
  • 1. Keep your distance from the bus until it has fully stopped
  • 2. Get on the bus calmly while holding your bag in your hand
  • 3. Put your seatblet on and remain seated
  • 4. Leave the bus calmly while holding your bag in your hand
  • 5. Wait for the bus to leave before crossing the street
  • 6. Watch your surroundings and pay attention
On the left you can see the blind spots of a bus.
The areas in red are areas that the bus driver cannot see while driving.
Avoid these areas as much as possible!
Illustration from the ICB Institute displaying the 6 main safety rules to follow: keep your distance from the bus until it is fully stopped, get on the bus calmly while holding your bag in your hand, put your seatblet on and stay seated, leave the bus calmly while holding your bag in your hand, wait for the bus to leave before crossing the street, watch your surroundings and pay attention

Emergency Evacuation of the Bus

In order to evacuate the bus quickly, you need to follow a specific system:

Children closest to the central corridor exit first, from the front to the back of the bus.
In the meantime, the children by the windows shift over to take the seats freed up next to the corridor.
The children seated in the back row of the bus should leave, and then all the children that were by the windows, from the back of the bus to the front of the bus.

Make sure to always face the front of the bus while moving so that no one is getting in each other’s way!

If the back door is open, only the children seated behind it should be using it to leave the bus. Even if you are right next to the back door, if you need to tun your back to the front of the bus to get to it, use the front door of the bus.

How to Leave the Bus Quickly
  • A
    • 1. Stay calm and follow the instructions of the driver or the bus monitor
    • 2. Leave everything in the bus!
    • 3. Everyone leaves from the door in front of them, never go towards the back of the bus!
  • B
    • 4. Everyone seated next to the corridor leaves first, using the zipper merge technique.
    • 5. When leaving the vehicle, each row goes alternatively left or right. Don't jump!
    • 6. Everyone seated next to a window moves over a seat towards the corridor.
  • C
    • 7. If everyone seated corridor-side moves towards the front, it allows the children seated window-side to get up and leave the bus starting from the back.
    • 8. The driver remains last in the bus.
  • D
    • 9. Head to the assembly point and don't cross the street.
    • 8. Never head back towards the bus!

Upon leaving the bus, stay grouped and in a safe spot indicated by the bus monitor or the driver.
If you were on the highway and had to evacuate the bus, make sure to stay on the other side of the external barriers or you may get grabbed by the passing cars simply because of their speed!

Most importantly, keep calm and follow the instructions of your bus monitor and bus driver.

Posters sourced from the ICB Institute.