TRAFFIC SAFETY EDUCATION

Bus safety - One near miss is a near miss too many

<< start of bussafety.mp4 >>

File Name:			bussafety.mp4
Duration:			00:21:06

Transcription

START

00:00 – 00:08
Text on screen: This program is dedicated to the memory of Neisha Munn

00:09
Bus kids waving at departing bus

00:24
Girl:  Bus safety is about knowing how to be a good passenger and pedestrian.

00:32
Kid 4: It’s helping each other!

00:37
Student:  Bus safety is about using the procedure: STOP, LOOK, LISTEN, THINK.

00:44
Bus driver

00:52
Adult and two kids at shoulder of rural road
Close up of adult holding the hand of small child.

Adult:  Now remember that we stand well back from the road and wait for the bus to stop completely.

00:56
Bus coming to a stop
Kids getting on

01:25
Title on screen:  “Bus Safety Education – One near miss is a near miss too many.’

1:28
Shot of house

TV announcer: And it’s coming up to 7.30AM on the morning show, time for Bus Safety News.

1:30
Adult watching Bus Safety News on television.

1:40
News reader 1:  And in this special edition of Bus Safety News, advice on the safest locations for bus stops and great ways that teachers can include bus safety programs in the curriculum.

Mother: Hurry up you two, you’ll miss the bus!

1:50
News reader 2:  But first, there have been several serious incidents in recent years involving student bus travellers.  In each case, these casualties involved pedestrians who used school buses and all of them happened in rural areas.
 Here’s our background Report…

2:20
News reader 1:  At first glance, this quiet Victorian country road would seem an unlikely place for tragedy to strike, but two years ago that’s exactly what happened.  
On this very spot 15 kilometres from Mortlake Secondary School a school bus traveller lost her life.
(Police expert) explains what happened.

2:30
Senior Constable Justin Rasmussen, Victoria Police:  The girl left bus and walked to the rear.  She underestimated the time needed to leave a clear view of the road ahead. She then stepped out in front of an oncoming truck travelling at speed.

2:57
Snr Con. Shane Bourke, Victoria Police:  Most of the serious injuries involving bus travellers happen before they get on or after they get off the school bus.  So it is pretty clear that if we want bus safety we must have pedestrian safety.

3:05
News reader 1: Every child experiences bus travel at some stage in their school career. So every child needs to know about bus safety. 

3:13
News reader 2: But whose responsibility is bus safety? Recent media coverage shows that schools have a special duty of care. Edmund Fernandes, manager of the Department of Employment Education and Training’s Insurance and Risk Management Unit, says that bus safety is part of every school’s duty of care.

3:31
Edmund Fernandes, Manager of the Department of Employment Education and Training’s Insurance and Risk Management Unit: Recent court cases in the Supreme Court in Queensland and the New South Wales Court of Appeal show that schools have a duty of care to students beyond the school gate. This includes before and after school hours. So it is critical that schools address the issue of supervision when students are using school buses. You should work together with the bus drivers and bus captains to develop appropriate strategies with regards to safe travel by bus. Consideration should be given to student behaviour while waiting for the bus, how to board and dismount safely and student behaviour while on the bus. Where necessary, this may require direct supervision by teachers. This insures that the school has appropriately discharged its duty of care. 

4:17
News reader 2: Given that schools have a responsibility in relation to bus safety, just what does it look like and how does it work? Students from Lismore Primary School produced this report.

4:26
Lismore Primary School Student: Here at Lismore Primary School, students are practising crossing the road near the school bus stop. We asked some of the kids what they have learned from their bus safety lessons. 

4:36
Student 1: I’ve learned to stop, look, listen and think. And now I use it every time I cross the road.

4:43
Student 2: It’s a procedure: stop, look, listen and think.

4:46
Student 3: The older students keep and eye on the little kids, especially when the teachers aren’t there. 

4:52
Student 4: When you get off the bus, step back, wait until the bus has left, before you try to cross the road. 

4:59
Student 5: And remember to always be on time so you don’t have to rush to catch the bus. 

5:06
Student 6: But what about safety when travelling on the bus? To find out, we spoke to Helen Stricker.

5:11
Helen Stricker, Regional VicRoads Coordinator: When you get on to a bus, there’s a few things you need to do:

•	Find a seat
•	Put any bags you have under a seat
•	If the bus is full and you can’t find a seat, hold on to a secure rail
•	Remember to be quiet and cool
•	And remember to keep everything inside the bus, any litter and of course you

5:31
Shot of bus in motion

5:32
Student walking down road: OK, so going on the bus is pretty cool. But what if you’re like me? I live in the country. I go home on the school bus, along a dirt road, there’s no real bus stop where I get off. There’s not even a footpath. And no traffic lights. What should I do? Well, my health and P.E. teacher, gave me some very good advice. 

5:56
Karen Carroll, Lismore Primary School: It’s very important to know the safe way to leave the bus, especially at the end of the day when everyone is rushing to get home. It is particularly important for students like you who travel on school buses in rural areas. When you think about it, students are often getting off the bus late in the afternoon on roads that have speed limits of greater than sixty kilometres per hour. So it’s very important for everyone, city and country, to:

(with shots of students demonstrating each point)

•	Wait for the bus stops before standing to get off.
•	Get off promptly, but carefully.
•	Older children should accompany all younger children.
•	Then, wait on the same side of the road until the bus has moved off and there is a clear view of traffic in both directions.
•	And then if you need to cross the road, stop at the verge of the road, look to make sure that you have a clear view of the road in both directions, listen for traffic and then think about whether it is safe to cross.

7:14
Student at side of road: I think we can go now. (students crossing road.)

7:16
Karen Carroll: So always remember to use the safe crossing procedure:
STOP
LOOK 
LISTEN
and
THINK

That’s what we do in our schools orientation program. 

7:34
Student walking down road: Now, I need to walk along the side of the road after I get off the bus. Helen Stricker helped me with that problem. 

7:40
Helen Stricker: When you’re walking along the road, walk on the verge of the road. That makes it easier for the driver to see you. And it’s even better if you’re with an adult too. 

7:51
News reader 2: Another vital element in school bus safety is the role played by parents. 

7:58
Student sitting on bus: I need my mum or dad to wait with me in the morning and be there after school when the bus arrives.

8:04
Parent 1: Well I must admit, I hadn’t thought how important bus safety is, until my son told me about the school program.

8:11
Parent 2: As parents and carers, it’s important to support our children along with teachers and bus drivers, it’s especially important if your children are under nine to be with them in a traffic situation. 

8:22
Parent 3: I think sometimes, we think our young children are little adults and of course that’s just not possible.

8:26
Shot of car parked on side of road with bus approaching

8:27
Parent 3: When I pick up my children, I park on the same side of the road as the bus stop. 

8:30
Shot of bus pulling up to stop, warning beep sounding and students exiting bus

8:41
Bus driver: Seeya guys...

8:42
Students getting off bus: Seeya (random chatter)

8:45
Parent 3: I park off the road, if possible, well clear of the bus stop and behind it. 

8:51
Shot of bus pulling away, students wave to bus and proceed towards parked car.

8:56
Parent 3: And I collect the children, making sure they always get into the car on the curb side of the vehicle. That way, there’s no chance of them crossing onto the road, into danger.

9:11 
Students get into car and close doors.

9:15
News reader 2: Its one thing knowing bus safety procedures, it’s quite another fitting them into the curriculum. Devon Meadows Primary has bus safety well and truly incorporated into the curriculum. Here’s their report.

9:28
Student: At Devon Meadows Primary School, every prep student takes part in our bus safety induction program. I found out more about it from our assistant principal, Mr Felsinger.

9:41
Andrew Felsinger, Assistant Principal, Devon Meadows Primary School: All our students use buses for excursions, including our own school minibus, so we think its really important, that from a very early age they learn about bus safety.

9:49
Student: How do you teach the kids about bus safety?

9:53
Andrew Felsinger: Well, our school has developed a traffic safety policy and it includes bus safety. Our prep bus safety induction program is part of the school’s risk management program. And it also fits neatly into our prep curriculum. We can draw many links between the induction program and CSF2, here’s an example from our teachers manual:

(On screen display)
Explain why groups and communities have rules, and how these rules are applied.

10:17
Student: What do the children do?

10:19
Andrew Felsinger: Ahh, we have three sessions in our program and we use the enquiry approach with all of them. 

10:32
Shot of students in classroom sitting down in front of a teacher

Andrew Felsinger: The first session we run in the classroom and we start off with discussing what is means to be a responsible passenger. 

10:34
Teacher: That’s right. OK Children, who can tell me what it means to be a passenger? Emily?

10:37
Emily: When you’re sitting at the back or the front or if you’re not driving. 

10:46
Andrew Felsinger: The second part, we simulate travelling on a bus. 

10:51
Shot of chairs in classroom set up to simulate bus with students boarding

10:52
Teacher: OK, let’s see how our next three passengers get on the bus. Up the steps, hang on to the rail, down the aisle, well done. Keep going. Very good Emily. Well done Wayne. All the hands in your laps? 

11:08
Students: Yes

11:09
Teacher: Backs against the seat?

11:10
Students: Yes

11:11
Teacher: Well done, I’m going to be the driver. 

11:13
Shot of two students with teacher sitting at table with scattered cards

11:14
Andrew Felsinger: In the second session, we developed some cards using the backline master from the VicRoads RoadSmart resource. Actually, we based our whole program from the VicRoads RoadSmart resource. And the children use these cards to put into sequence, or steps, for safe bus travel.

11:32
Shot of Andrew Felsinger guiding students to safe pick up area

Andrew Felsinger: The third session’s called “Out and About”. Here the students investigate the traffic features of our school. First of all, they have a look at our safe pick up area. This has been designed so the children know where to be picked up by their parents and also by buses for excursions. Next we look at the bollards and chains. 

11:48 
Shot of Andrew Felsinger showing bollards and chains to students

Andrew Felsinger: This was designed by our school council and put in to prevent children from running into the busy car park area. And finally we point out to the children the traffic direction and flow, so that they’re fully aware of where the cars are coming from and where they’re going to. 

12:03
Andrew Felsinger talking to students: Alright, and then they stop up there. So you got that? So they come from there, around there and they stop up there. 

12:10
Andrew Felsinger: When the children have successfully completed the induction program.

Shot of “I AM SAFE TO GO” badge

Andrew Felsinger: They receive their “safe to go” badge, soon after that, they go on their first excursion. 

12:22
Shot of students with “safe to go” badges travelling on the bus.

12:23
Student: So here, at Devon Meadows Primary School, everyone does bus safety training. Just before an excursion, we practise bus safety procedures. 

12:30
News reader 1: Another valuable bus safety strategy can be found in operation at Hillcrest Christian College, where a cross age tutoring program is in operation. Secondary students go to the schools feeder primary schools and instruct students in bus safety procedures. 

12:44
Chloe: Hi, I’m Chloe. At our school we teach students from feeder primary schools about bus safety. And we do this by cross age tutoring.

Shot of older student instructing younger student with use of photo showing of students waiting for bus.

Chloe: As a part of our school’s orientation program. 

13:00
Secondary Student: What happens if they try and cross the road now?

Primary Student: Well, they might get hurt from the car.

Secondary Student: So where do you think the bus should be?

Primary Student: I reckon the bus should be a little bit further up the road so they can see all the oncoming traffic. 

13:15
Shot of hand placing VicRoads RoadSmart CD-ROM into CD-ROM drive of computer.

13:20
Shot of secondary student instruction primary student at computer.

Secondary student: Okay Brody, this is our new program called RoadSmart, it’s a wonderful essential safety kit for young people and it’s fantastic, would you like to play?

Primary Student: Sure.

13:31
Shot of RoadSmart program screen

RoadSmart: Let’s not cross the road to the station until the bus moves away. Then we’ll be able to see both sides of the road clearly.

Shot of back of the bus with a cartoon kookaburra on screen and music.

Rapping kookaburra:
Wait till the bus
Goes away down the street.
Then you’ll have a good view
Of the traffic you might meet.
If you let the bus
Block your line of sight.
Cars and trucks you cannot see
Even in good light.
OH YEAH!

13:50
Shot of both students at computer with rapping kookaburra voice heard in the background

Drivers of bikes, cars and trucks
Cannot know you’re there.
They don’t know you’re crossing
They will not be aware.

13:57
Shot of hands holding up VicRoads RoadSmart CD-ROM case

14:00
News reader 1: We’ve already seen that VicRoads provides a CD-ROM based product for primary schools called RoadSmart. What other programs does VicRoads provide? We put that question to VicRoads Regional Coordinator Helen Stricker.

14:13
Helen Stricker: We’ve just completed another one of VicRoads bus safety workshops. Bus safety workshops are where we have bus coordinators, bus drivers and teachers all working out strategies to make bus travel safer for all bus users. 

14:30 
Shot of VicRoads staff member instructing group of people

VicRoads staff member: So this is something that we want you to be aware of and to take back to your students, is that when they get off the bus, it’s a key area, where they have to STOP, LOOK, LISTEN and THINK.

14:42
Helen Stricker: We also have another program, the bus safety transition program. This program is geared towards children in their last year of primary school. At these sessions we invite along bus drivers, grade six students and teachers to have a complete workshop session where we work out some fantastic, fun strategies, to make road safety and bus safety safer for every single member of the community. 

15:12
Robert Allen: Another good VicRoads resource, is the video called “Doing the bus stop”, where our bus drive Hale, takes us on a mystery bus tour and looks at safety on and around buses and also in a country and a city environment. 

15:25
Shot of students watching video in classroom and scenes from video

Voice from video singing:
Everybody
Come and sing my song
It could save a life
And it won’t take long
Now it’s a real cool dance
But it’s got a message too
So I’m coming your way
To do the bus stop with you
YO!

15:44
Robert Allen: Also included in the video is a set of notes for teachers. And those notes include the words and music to the bus stop rap.

15:50
Shot of students doing the bus stop rap.

Robert Allen: And that teaches the kids while they are having a lot of fun about getting on the bus, travelling on the bus and getting off the bus.

16:02
News reader 2: The Department of Infrastructure also has a number of resources. Teachers should have a look at two very useful products. “Travel On” is a public transport education product for primary students from P to 6. “Getting there safely” is also very useful. Both resources can be used to look at complex situations.

16:24
Shot of students walking away from bus stop.

News reader 2: These might involve students negotiating bus stops, which have nearby major roads, pedestrian crossings, traffic lights, railway crossings or tram stops. 

16:42
Conrad Remenyi, Senior Project Officer Traffic Safety, DEET: Bus safety is an across the curriculum activity. It fulfils learning outcomes in nearly all the KLAs. It depends upon what suits the school. It’s an integrated course of activities. And the course advice provides activities at several levels. 

16:58
Shot of computer screen with CSF animation.

Conrad Remenyi: In CSF 2 bus safety is most readily identified in the health and physical education area. There are indicators in the “health of individuals” and population strand and in the “movement and physical activity” strand at levels 1 and 3 and 6. They either refer directly to bus safety or to the context of traffic safety generally. The traffic safety course advice, part of health and P.E. course advice, provides examples of bus safety activities. They address learning outcomes not just in health and P.E., but in a range of KLAs. So, bus safety can be delivered by every teacher. 

17:44
News reader 1: And that’s all for this edition of School Bus Safety News. If you’d like to obtain any of the resources mentioned, contact details will be shown at the end of this bulletin. 

17:51
News reader 2: We leave you with some final words now, from teachers who know easy it is to include bus safety in the school curriculum.

18:00
Andrew Felsinger: At Devon Meadows Primary School we did a survey of the area and we looked at the traffic problems in and around our school. And from this survey we worked out a traffic safety needs analysis for our students. 

18:10
Teacher: Here at Mortlake we believe in community support for our bus safety. One of the most important things is the relationship that we have with our bus drivers and our bus companies. 

18:20
Teacher: We’re very aware of the risks of personal injury to students who use school buses. So at our school, we’ve developed a bus safety awareness program as part of the personal development of every student. As far as we’re concerned, one near miss, is one near miss too many.

18:40
Bus Safety 
Resources and Materials

Department of Education, Employment and Training 
Phone 9637 3328
Website: www.sofweb.vic.edu.au/pd/traffic 

Products:
Curriculum and Standards Framework (CSF 11)
Traffic Safety Education Advice

Programs:
Traffic Safety Education Teacher Professional Deployment Project

18:51
Bus Safety 
Resources and Materials

Public Transport Education Programs
Products: Travel On
		Getting There Safely

18:57
Bus Safety 
Resources and Materials

VicRoads Bookshop
Phone 9854 2049 or 9854 2782

Products: RoadSmart
		CrashStats
		Doing the Bus Stop

Programs: Bus Safety Workshops
		Bus Safety Transition Programs
		Go Safe

19:08
Bus Safety 
Resources and Materials

Transport Workers Union
Phone 9645 1322

Programs: Pedestrian / Bus Safety Days

19:16
Bus Safety 
Resources and Materials

Victoria Police

Programs: Police Schools Involvement Program
		Phone 9247 5306
		‘Maximising Road Safety’
		presentations for VCE levels
		Road Safety Awareness and 
Information Unit Phone 9247 5779

19:28
The producers would like to thank the following school communities, families and organisations

19:33
Armadale Primary School
Devon Meadows Primary School
Hillcrest Christian College
Lismore Primary School
Mortlake College
Wodonga South Primary School

19:39
Mavrodis Family
Munn Family
Owen Family
Robinson Family
Molloy Family

19:46
Bus Association of Victoria

19:51
Department of Infrastructure

19:56
Public Transport Education Programs

20:00
Transport Accident Commission

20:06
VicRoads

20:10
Victoria Police

20:14
Transport Workers Union

20:18
Victorian Association for Traffic Safety Education Teachers

20:21
This Program was jointly funded by Department of Education, Employment and Training and Department of Infrastructure

20:27
Presenters
Tracey Dale
Justin Shortal

Executive Producer
Conrad Remenyi	

Producer/Director
Justin Shortal

Camera
Rob Durston

Audio
Broadcast Sound
Michael Watson

Editing
CVV

Script
Conrad Remenyi	
Justin Shortal

21:44
Scene of mother in kitchen

Mother: Hi

Child: Hi

Mother: How’d it go?

Child: It was good.

Mother: What about you Steph?

Steph: We learnt about bus safety today.

Mother: Did you? That sounds really interesting. Tell me some more...

20:59
Produced by SOFNet Schools Television

Copyright State of Victoria 2000

END

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