In two weeks, Cher Santiago, a mother from Yonkers, will drop off her five-year-old son, Guy, on a school bus for the first time. It’s a new experience for both of them, full of excitement and nervousness.
“It scares me a lot and I’ve never let anyone else take care of him like this before. That’s why I’m giving him away for the first time,” Santiago said.
The new school year comes amid a campaign for increased safety measures both on and off the bus. Earlier this year, two private school students died after being struck by school buses in Rockland County, highlighting the importance of continuing to improve education and pedestrian safety throughout the Hudson Valley.
“Parents give us their most valuable possession, their children, so I think we have a responsibility to make sure children feel safe and comfortable when they drop them off at the bus stop,” said Yonkers School Superintendent Aníbal Soler Jr.
To combat fears and proactively prepare students for bus riding, the Yonkers School District, the largest in Westchester, hosted a safety orientation program for new school bus riders on Thursday. The events were held on all school campuses in the district.
At William Boyce Thompson School, dozens of parents and their preschool and kindergarten children, as well as new students, were taught about bus safety and took a ride on the bus to ease nerves.
“The best form of prevention is education,” said Soler Jr.
Educators and traffic safety experts offer several recommendations to ensure children’s safety in the coming school year:
- Arrive at the bus stop 10 minutes before departure to avoid rush and the risk of accidents.
- Parents should hold their child’s hand while waiting at the bus stop.
- Stay on the sidewalk or several meters from the edge of the road until the bus has come to a complete stop.
- Avoid the “danger zone” of a school bus, that is, the area three meters in front of and behind the bus.
- Always wait until the bus has come to a complete stop before crossing the road to board the vehicle.
- Drivers should always slow down when the flashing yellow lights are illuminated and stop at least 20 feet from the bus once the red lights and stop sign are illuminated.
- With schools starting again in a few weeks, drivers should remember to drive slowly in and around schools and in school zones.
The City of Yonkers officially launched its Yonkers Safe Stop school bus camera program on November 13, 2023. In the first year, the cameras detected 18,132 violations for drivers illegally passing school buses.
