Practice electrical safety while waiting for and riding buses

Kids can forge lifelong friendships at the school bus stop. However, there are nearby electrical hazards they should be aware of as they wait.

Keep these situations in mind when talking to your children about school-bus and bus-stop safety.

Don’t play near or around electrical equipment

• Warn your child to not climb up trees and electrical poles or on guy wires that might put them dangerously close to overhead power lines.
• Warn your child to stay away from pad-mount transformers (big, usually green boxes) or other electrical equipment in your neighborhood. Children may view these as perfect for climbing and playing on or lying on while waiting for the bus. But thousands of volts of electricity are usually coursing through them.
• Do your own homework: Before the school year starts, learn exactly where the bus stop is. Check it for blind spots and dangers curious kids might encounter as they wait.

Think about how to stay safe in the event of a bus accident

• If the school bus is ever in an accident and ends up in a ditch, the bus may have hit a utility pole. Power lines may have dropped and be touching the bus. Teach your child to assume any fallen lines are energized and dangerous. Let your child know to stay in the bus as the driver calls 911.
• If your child needs to exit the bus, show them how to jump clear from the bus with both feet together — avoiding contract with the bus and the ground at the same time. They should then shuffle away with tiny steps, keeping both feet together and on the ground at all times to reduce the risk of electrical shock or electrocution.
• Tell your child to look closely for fallen power lines to avoid accidentally walking into them.
• Take the opportunity to practice this with your child, even if it’s just from your own vehicle.

Dos and Don’ts of school bus safety

• DON’T play near or around power lines or poles while waiting for the bus.
• DON’T climb trees near your bus stop.
• DON’T climb on pad-mount transformers (the big green boxes) or other electrical equipment.
• DON’T put your fingers, sticks or other objects through cracks in a transformer.
• DON’T go near areas where you see hazard stickers.
• DO tell a parent, teacher or someone from your local electric cooperative if you see a broken lock on a transformer.
• DO listen to your bus driver or first responders if you’re in an accident involving a power line.
• DON’T exit the bus until an adult tells you to unless it is an emergency.
• In that case, DO jump away from the bus, landing on both feet and carefully shuffling away from danger.