Safety tips on the bus

1) Sit down.
Very often when you drive past school buses you will see the children standing up and playing around. If the bus driver needs to step on the brakes suddenly, the children may lose their balance and injure themselves. Children must be warned and understand the severity of sticking their head, arm or leg out the window. Accidents can happen so easily.

2) Listen to the bus driver.
When your child is on the bus, the bus driver is the man or woman in charge. Remind your child that the rules that the bus driver imposes are there for a reason. If he says, “Sit down”, then they should comply. If the bus driver is unreasonable, they should tell you about it so you can bring it up with the bus driver. They shouldn't try to confront the bus driver.

3) If the bus breaks down or there's an emergency, call you.
Remind your child that they should never endeavour to get home by themselves or deal with an emergency on their own. They should call you. If they don't have a handphone, chances are one of the other children on the bus will, or use the bus driver's phone.

4) Get on the right bus.
Make sure you child is familiar with the bus driver and the bus so that he or she doesn't get on the wrong bus.

5) Public transport.
Your child should be able to take care of himself or herself before they are allowed to take public transport. Initially, when they start taking public transport, get an older sibling or cousin to go along to guide and monitor them until they are ready to go solo. When taking public transport, they should find responsible and reliable friends who take the same bus home and sit together. If they have to sit alone, then make sure they know to shout, scream and kick if anyone tries to touch them. They must learn to sit next to safe-looking people – the elderly distinguished looking auntie, the mother with child or another student. When standing up, your child should be wary of perverts standing too close and rubbing or pressing themselves against them. In such cases, shout at the pervert and move to stand farther away. If they can't move away, use their school bag as a wedge between them and the pervert.