“Be Smart – Be Seen, I Wait In A Safe Place.” This will be our theme for next year’s National School Bus Safety Week. However the message of this theme is of particular importance for us. Waiting in a safe place refers to the driver Designated Place of Safety that all students are assigned to wait in for the bus, as well as after the bus departs from the stop in the afternoon. Designated Place of Safety is an area determined by the bus driver to be a safe spot away from the road and any dangers that the child can wait at for the bus in the morning. The Designated Place of Safety is a spot where the students are clearly visible to the approaching bus. We ask that your child be in their Designated Place of Safety at least 5 minutes prior to their pickup time. Students cannot be waiting inside cars or their house, as they are not clearly visible to the approaching bus and thus an unsafe situation can be created. In the afternoon, after the students exit the bus, they are to wait in their Designated Place of Safety until the bus leaves the stop. Again, this is so the students are away from any danger of the moving bus as it departs from the bus stop. We have seen an increase in Designated Place of Safety Violations, as well as students entering or exiting the bus at a stop other than their assigned bus stop. Please note, this is a violation of Ohio Revised Code and we take this seriously as it is a safety concern. If your student should miss the bus, we cannot have them dropped off at another bus stop as this poses a legality concern since that is not their assigned bus. We transport over 1100 students daily, and due to timing constraints we cannot accommodate students who are late or miss the bus. Below please find the Ohio Revised Code as it appears in our rule book so that you can review this with your child and help us to ensure your child’s ride to school is as safe as possible.
3301-83-13: School Bus Routes and Stops
(B) School Bus Stop Location
(3) School bus stops shall be established on the residence side of all four-lane highways and on the residence side of other roadways posing potential hazards to students as determined by school bus owners.
(5) Each pupil shall be assigned and required to use a specific school bus stop except in unusual circumstances as approved by the school bus owner of designee.
(6) Each pupil shall be assigned a designated place of safety on the residence side of the roadway on which the vehicle is scheduled to stop. Driver must account for each pupil at designated place of safety before leaving. Pupils are not to proceed to their residence until the school bus has departed.
Ohio Pupil Transportation Operation and Safety Rules, July 2013
Please be aware that violations of any of the above can result in disciplinary measures up to suspension from the bus.