Know the Zone - School Bus Safety Week

School bus drivers are an important part of our school system. They are the first staff our students see in the morning and the last staff they see at the end of the school day. They are responsible for transporting our children to and from school each day. St. Paul Education transports over 1,800 students per day across the division, totalling 1.5 million km logged annually. Approximately 60 per cent of our busses are operated by contractors and 40 per cent are division-owned.

My Uncle Norman was my bus driver. We were neighbours, so we were the first ones on the bus and the last ones off. We rode the bus an hour in the morning and an hour at night, so I know first-hand how important our bus drivers are when it comes to ensuring our students are safe on the way to and from school. Since part of our route was on a busy highway, Uncle Norman prevented a number of near-misses by warning kids to stay back when someone went flying through the flashing lights. I also have vivid memories of my uncle plowing through the snow on the back roads, trying to get us home during a surprise snow storm. I had complete faith in him and knew he always had our safety in the forefront of his mind. In fact, he did the same thing, day in and day out for 40 years. Thank you, Uncle Norman!

Driving a school bus is a huge responsibility and I now rely on another uncle to drive my two boys to school each day. As parents, we put our faith in our bus drivers and they rely on us to keep them informed of our busy schedules. There are many rules and regulations our division's drivers must keep in mind and up to date on a regular basis. It is up to us as drivers to pay attention and follow the rules of the road as well. If you are near a school bus, pay extra attention because there could be a child nearby, trying to cross the road.

So, this School Bus Safety Week (October 16 - 22), slow down around school busses and keep our kids safe!