Yup, that is me. That
mom at the bus stop that, while waiting for my kids to board the bus, ends up
supervising and “parenting” the other kids that are not behaving. I remember a few years back I was waiting for
the bus with my daughter. There were
several kids waiting with us, and a few parents. Three boys were first in line, standing on
the curb. They were pushing, shoving and
playing around as boys do, each time falling or running onto the road. I told them to stop what they were doing,
stand in line properly and patiently wait for the bus. My neighbor called me a meanie.
I am happy to be a meanie when it comes to safety, especially
with children. Part of this is the curse
of working in auto insurance. I know if
one of these boys gets hit by a passing car, this could be life threatening or
at the least, life altering. I also know
the driver of that car will likely suffer life-long mental anguish knowing they
inadvertently harmed a child – even if this was not their fault. Also, my child, and the other children at the
bus stop that would witness such an accident would never be the same. They could have nightmares, flashbacks, and
suffer from traffic anxiety, an aversion to riding the bus, or attending
school. Lastly, from a personal
liability perspective, I can’t help thinking that if children are being unsafe,
and get injured, and this is witnessed by a responsible adult who did not try
to prevent it, that adult could be held partially responsible. Either way, the outcome is bad for all
involved.
Transportation by bus is one of the safest ways to get
children to and from school. According
to transport Canada, only .3 percent of personal injury or death from
collisions involved school buses. Of the
142 deaths involving a school bus over the last 10 years, only 5 have involved
passengers of the bus with the rest being drivers, pedestrians, cyclists or
other motorists (http://www.tc.gc.ca/eng/roadsafety/tp-tp2436-rs200702-menu-133.htm). Therefore,
children are more unsafe around buses than they are in buses. In fact, riding the bus is safer than walking
or getting a ride in a regular vehicle.
What becomes key then is helping children to understand pedestrian
safety, the rules for getting on an off a bus, and waiting at the bus
stop.
It is back to school time.
We all need to remember that children are both careless and
carefree. Children are not expected to
understand and process the dangers of traffic until age 10 and beyond, and as such,
as responsible adults and parents we need to help them understand all aspects
of bus safety and, if needed, be “meanies” when monitoring their behavior –
even if they don’t belong to us.
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