A lot can happen at a school bus stop
A SCHOOL BUS ACCIDENT is among a parent’s worst nightmares, but making sure your children know what to do in a wreck, especially if power lines are involved, may reduce the dangers. Review the possible scenarios with them.
Children should be taught to remain in the bus as the driver or someone else calls 911. If power lines are involved, they should assume the lines are still energized and therefore dangerous. If the situation is an emergency that requires them to leave the bus, they need to follow the driver’s instructions and also heed emergency responders on the scene.
Teach your child to learn how to safely exit a vehicle in an accident involving power lines—you can practice with them at home from your own car. Here’s how they should do it: jump out of the vehicle with both feet together and touching, avoiding contact with the bus and the ground at the same time. Shuffle away with small steps, being sure to keep both feet touching and on the ground at all times until at least 40 feet away. This helps reduce the risk for electrical shock or electrocution.
At the bus stop
Bullies and bad drivers are not the only things children need to watch out for at the school bus stop. A curious child can find ways to occupy those minutes before the bus pulls up. For one, those green pad-mount transformer boxes are not there for climbing or playing on.
Warn kids to not put their fingers, sticks or other objects through cracks in a transformer. Make sure they understand the significance of a hazard sticker and why they should not touch or go near electrical equipment or areas where those stickers are posted.
Does your child know what to do if they see a downed power line, or broken lock on a transformer? They should know to assume the line is energized and to stay away—and to report a downed line or damaged transformer to a parent, teacher or electric cooperative.
What applies to those green boxes also applies to power lines and poles: kids should not play around them. Be sure children understand the hidden dangers of climbing a tree near the bus stop—the tree could be in contact with a power line.
