Child Safety Committee

The Child Safety Committee coordinates safety-related events for parents and students. The committee also reviews, recommends, and coordinates actions to improve or expand existing child safety policies.

In this issue...

Tips on bus safety now that school is in session
New Maryland law about children under 8 in car seats

The Child Safety Committee needs a chairman. If you are interested in safety-related event and information for the school community, contact the PTA President and get involved. Let's have fun being safe!

Bus Safety Tips

With the new school year, it's time to review some bus safety tips.

Children are at risk because they:

hurry to get on or off the bus
act before they think and have little experience with traffic
assume motorists will see them and will wait for them to cross a street
don’t always stay within the bus driver’s sight
drop something as they get off the bus and run into the path of the bus to pick it up.

Teach your child to get on and off the bus safely:

When getting on the bus, stay away from the danger zone and wait for the driver’s signal. Board the bus one at a time.
When getting off the bus, look before stepping off the bus to be sure no cars are passing on the shoulder (side of the road). Move away from the bus.
Before crossing the street, take five “giant steps” out from the front of the bus, or until you can see the driver’s face. Wait for the driver to signal that it’s safe to cross.
Look left-right-left when coming to the edge of the bus to make sure traffic is stopped. Keep watching traffic when crossing.

Safety steps that parents can take

Supervise children to make sure they get to the stop on time, wait far away from the road, and avoid rough play.

Teach your children to ask the driver for help if they drop something near the bus. If children bend down to pick up something, the driver cannot see them and the child may be hit by the bus. Have your child use a backpack or book bag to keep loose items together.

Make sure clothing and backpacks have no loose drawstrings or long straps that might get caught in the handrail or bus door.

Encourage safe school bus loading and unloading. Remind children to always look both ways when crossing a street.

If you think a bus stop is in a dangerous place, talk with your school office or transportation director about changing the location.

When you are driving, stop at least 20 feet away for a school bus that is blinking its red loading/unloading lights.

New Maryland Law for Child Car Seats

Starting June 30, 2008, state law requires children up to age 8 to use a child safety seat or booster seat when riding in a motor vehicle, unless the child is 4'9" tall OR weighs more than 65 pounds. The old law required children to use safety seats until they reached 6 years of age AND weighed 40 pounds.

This new law is aimed at protecting older children who are not ready for adult seat belts. Even after reaching the current requirement of age 6 and 40 pounds, most children are not tall enough for adult seat belts to fit properly. Proper fit for a seat belt means the lap-shoulder belt fits low on the child’s hips and across the mid-chest. If the belt fits across the child’s neck or stomach, the child could be injured in the event of a crash. The new law means some children who had been secured with adult seat belts under the old law will have to return to a safety seat or booster seat.

The appropriate seat for most 6 to 8 year olds is a booster seat that raises the child up so that adult seat belts will fit properly. Booster seats do not have harness straps and are not permanently installed in the vehicle. Fortunately, boosters are generally the least expensive type of safety seat, with some starting as low as $13. For families who cannot afford to purchase a safety seat, loaner programs are available throughout the state.

Download a flyer explaining the new law at http://www.fha.state.md.us/ohpetup/kiss/pdf/new_law.pdf. For more information about Maryland’s child passenger safety laws and loaner programs, call Maryland Kids in Safety Seats at 1-800-370-SEAT, or visit the KISS web site at www.mdkiss.org.

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