Kids Get Up Close Look, Practice New School Bus Rules

The wheels of the bus are getting set to go round and round for another school year, but there are some new rules kids need to be aware of before they take the ride to school.

Coupled with the NAACP, the Back to School Summit helped explain to the group of more than 30 students, easy ways to stay safe around a bus.

The group learned that while waiting for a bus at the bus stop, or while standing next to a bus, they now have to be at least 12 feet from the bus. The rule used to mandate they stay only 10 feet away.

Also, the kids were able to practice entering and exiting a bus, looking both ways for traffic, and see exactly just how far 12 feet really is.

Macon’s NAACP President, David Booker, is also a school bus driver. He hosted Thursday’s seminar for the kids, and he says he boils all the school bus-riding-rules into three easy-to-remember steps. He calls them, the One, Five, Nine.

“Rule number one is observe the same conduct as in the classroom. Rule number five, which is my main rule, is cooperate with the bus driver. Rule number nine is stay in your seat and keep your hands to yourself,” Booker says.

Booker also informed the students of another, more serious rule. If the student is given three referrals between a teacher or the bus driver, because of bullying actions, they could be expelled from school for the remainder to the year.