Knowing
how to evacuate a school bus safely in an emergency is a lesson
presented to students three times a year as part of the state-required
school district emergency exit drills.
Last
month, students spent about 10 extra minutes on the bus before school
to hear their bus driver explain emergency procedures. Students then
practiced how to exit through the rear or side emergency door.
“This
empowers the drivers and students with the skills needed to evacuate in
the event of an actual emergency and keeps the attention and the focus
on student safety,” said Director of Transportation Cathy McDaniel. “All
of our drivers are trained to teach these skills.”
Emergency
bus evacuation drills are held in fall, winter, and spring. Students
practice exiting the bus in fall, hear a verbal review in winter, and
practice again in spring.
The
drills held in fall coincide with National School Bus Safety Week,
which was observed October 21-25. This year’s theme, “Stand Back From
the Yellow and Black,” focused on being safe around the bus.
The
annual drills also teach students a variety of other safety measures,
such as how to respond if a driver becomes incapacitated, how to set the
emergency brake, how to radio the Transportation department for help,
and how to access equipment such as the first-aid kit.
“The
repetition of hearing it several times a year every year until they
graduate is important so they know what to do if an emergency actually
occurs,” said bus driver Sabrina Koestler, who has been transporting
students the past 23 years.
During one of her drills last month, Koestler reviewed safety information with about 40 Pope Elementary students.
Tammy
Sutton, the school district’s bus driver trainer, added, “Just like
schools do earthquake and fire drills, it is critical our bus drivers
and students participate in regular bus safety drills.”
Students
may be excused or excluded from the evacuation drills if their
participation poses substantial difficulty to themselves or to other
passengers. They continue to receive verbal instruction in school bus
safety and exit drills.