Article Photos

SALEM -Some Salem school bus drivers taught students some lessons about safety both on and off the bus Thursday, but there's one lesson they said all motorists need to learn: respect the stop signs.

"Slow down and watch where the kids are," Susan Ritchey said, adding "...slow down when you see the lights...be courteous."

A driver with 16 years experience, Ritchey and two other veteran bus drivers, Philip Meredith, 14 years, and Carol Speece, 19 years, visited Buckeye Elementary School with their big yellow work vehicles Thursday to talk with students about bus safety.

Meredith said motorists need to watch what they're doing, not just for their children but for all children. The bus drivers also said motorists need to keep in mind the turn radius required for a bus.

The visit was part of the district's celebration of National School Bus Safety Week, an event held the third full week of October each year. The celebration began Monday and ends today.

"This year's theme, Avoid Harm, Obey the Stop Arm, emphasizes the importance for drivers to follow the rules of the road and stop when the red lights flash and the stop sign deploys and children are getting on and off the bus. The stop arm requires drivers in all states to stop," a press release on the American School Bus Council Web site said.

The site located at www.americanschoolbuscouncil.org included a number of safety tips for students and their parents or other motorists to follow regarding bus safety. There's also a quiz students can take.

"We want you to have a good experience on the bus," Meredith told the students.

Each bus driver had their own presentation when the kindergarten, first and second graders entered their bus. Ritchey reviewed her bus rules with the students.

Those rules included: talk quietly, no feet in the aisle, face front, no hands out the window, keep hands to yourself, no turning around in the seat, no eating or drinking, no standing up, no swearing, no fighting, be polite, and no throwing or passing objects on the bus. She also said there's a new rule this year calling for students to stand at a designated place of safety after they get off the bus so the driver can see that they've safely exited.

Speece had the students exit through the emergency door at the back of her bus to give them an idea of what they may have to do if there's a real emergency when they're on a bus. She and their teachers helped them get down.

Meredith noted bus stop safety, such as respecting other people's property and not talking to strangers. He talked about how to act on the bus and had one student pull on an emergency handle so students could hear the sound the alarm makes.

He also noted the cameras which help drivers see and hear the students.

"You cannot get away with anything on the bus," he said.

Mary Ann Greier can be reached at mgreier@salemnews.net