School is back and going next week in Minnesota. That means that buses are back on the roads. Dues to budget restraints there have been changes in many routes. Kids are being driven more and walking long distances. They may be facing more transfers from vehicle to buses. All of these changes add up to the need to watch out.
Kids:
- Need to be taught to always keep in mind that cars may not see them
- they need to be dressed in ways they can be seen
- They need to be taught proper exiting and walking habits.
Parents
- Need to always be watching.
- Need to make sure kids are not left in cars or put in unsafe conditions.
- Need to make sure the safest routes to school are used.
All of us
- Need to watch for kids on the road
- Slow down for school buses and other vehicles where children are exiting
- Ask ourselves if the funding choices of less busing routes makes sense, especially with the increased risks.
With School Safety month upon us it’s important we all do our part to make this a safe start to the new School Year.
A founding partner with Bradshaw & Bryant, Mike Bryant has always fought to find justice for his clients—knowing that legal troubles, both personal injury and criminal, can be devastating for a family. Voted a Top 40 Personal Injury "Super Lawyer" multiple years, Mr. Bryant has also been voted one of the Top 100 Minnesota "Super Lawyers" four times.
2 Comments
Jessica Hoerman
Mike, I am so glad you posted this. I have been battling our district on this very issue. The budgetary cuts in our schools are difficult and changes to our bus routes were necessary, but, in our district these changes do not appear to take safety into account. We now have children exiting buses at some of the busiest intersections in the area since consolidated bus routes now require the avoidance of smaller streets.
The safety of our children needs to be put first when they make changes like this, and, if parents need to work out car pools to retrieve our children from safer drop offs, then, we can work that out.
I fear that safety in our district took a back seat to budget cuts - I hope that other districts did a better job when they made these tough choices.
Mike Bryant
Very good point about the reality out there. Thanks for reading and the comment.
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