Buster the Bus helps Team Pete stay safe

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Rose Gudex
  • 21st Space Wing Public Affairs
PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. --  He spun in circles on the stage, lights flashing and horn sounding, while children of Peterson Airmen gazed intently at the stage of the base auditorium for an educational ride.

The District 11 Transportation Safety Office brought Buster the School Bus to Peterson Air Force Base to provide school-aged children and parents the opportunity to learn about bus safety prior to the start of the school year.

With 450,000 school buses transporting 25 million kids to and from school each day, the importance of safety while on the bus cannot be overstated. Victoria Reid, school liaison officer, said the National Highway Transportations Safety Association acknowledged that travel by school bus is virtually the safest mode of transportation in the United States.

To increase safety, D11 took initiative to retrofit school buses with seat belts, she said. Not all have been upgraded yet, but all buses transporting children from Peterson to the feeder schools will have seat belts.

“We want to start the school year right, especially with our kindergarteners,” said Reid. “This will be the first time they’re riding the bus and we want to start off with them having to put their seat belts on correctly and not develop any bad habits.”

Peterson Airmen and their children learned lessons about how to cross the road safely, staying out of the “danger zone,” riding the bus safely, waiting for the bus, crossing safely in front of the bus and how to evacuate the bus in case of an emergency, Reid said. The event was very interactive and got kids excited about safety.

Buster the Bus spoke to kids about each lesson and showed a video to demonstrate the importance of wearing seat belts when on the bus. Afterwards, they all piled onto real school buses to get the feel for what it’s like to be on a bus and wear the seat belts.

“Safety is number one. We have them wear the seat belts to learn how to do it correctly,” Reid said. “They also (participated in) an evacuation drill where they had to exit out the back of the bus like they would in case of an emergency.”

After learning about and practicing safety tips, children and their parents received free school supplies provided by the Airmen & Family Readiness Center and the R.P. Lee Youth Center.

The event helped give parents a peace of mind when they send their child to school every day. They know the buses their kids are riding are safe and their child knows how to ride the bus safely.

 

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