Tips for parents and caregivers

Resources

Visit the RoadSense/Ata Haere website for excellent information on teaching young children about road safety.

• The Community section has useful information for parents, including 'Safety and the school bus'.
• The Kidstuff section has interactive games and activities to teach your child about getting to school safely.

Safety and the school bus (PDF, 230 KB). A school bus safety brochure for children and their parents/caregivers.

Information

Getting to the bus stop safely

• Have a planned route to the school bus stop. This should have the fewest roads to cross and the least amount of traffic.
• Make children as visible as possible (they could wear bright and/or light-coloured clothing, or clothing with reflective tape on it).
• If you drop children off, make sure they don't have to cross the road (unless there is a school crossing nearby).
• Tell children how important it is to wait quietly and not play games that could cause them to run onto the road.

Coming home from school

Remind your children not to cross the road until the bus has moved away (at least two power poles or until they can see up and down the road clearly).

Picking children up

• If you're picking children up from the bus stop, always wait on the same side of the road as the bus stop. Don't call out for children to come to you from across the road.
• Park your car out of the way of the bus and other children.
• When you're driving, remember that the speed limit for passing a school bus on either side of the road is 20 km/h. Always keep to the speed limit.

Last updated: 11 August 2005