[Click on the image to watch the video, it may save someones life!] Owing to a number of recent tragedies, the Torah Safety Commission, in association with Hatzalah, has produced a CD designed to educate parents and children alike as to the appropriate rules pertaining to school bus safety. Underwritten by Revival Home Health Agency, the CD is being distributed to some 600 Jewish schools in North America.
In a memo accompanying the CD, Rabbi Yaakov Fruchter, director of publications for Torah Umesorah, writes:”…schools should be the catalysts in making parents and children aware of the potential dangers associated with school bus transportation…and that such an important CD exists”.
In Eretz Yisroel, the CD is being distributed to Israeli schools by Baruch Rofeh Cholim, a Hatzalah affiliate/Chesed organization.
The CD was written and co-produced by Sender Gurwitz, a certified NY State school bus safety instructor. Stills from the CD and school bus safety rules will appear on a Kemach cereal box, one of a number of safety public services provided by the kosher food manufacturer.
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3 Responses
Where can I get a copy of this CD to show my class?
I would like to make a comment about a safety issue regarding our kids going and coming off the school buses.
We, parents our told to walk our children to the school bus door. Also, to watch the children behind at the same moment and not have them running onto the street. I think that is something almost impossible. Baruch Hashem many of us are Kein Ein Horah are blessed with large families and children very close in age, thereby making it difficult to watch all the little ones at the same time as going with one of them to the bus. I’m sure there are many of us who find themselves in this situation. I’ve heard many times that there should be an adult other than the bus driver on the bus. However I dont think that this is well enforced. The bus Rebbe/teacher doing the bus duty (as it is called) should come off the bus and take the child, waiting with the mother/father/babysitter on the sidewalk, to the bus and make sure the child is sitting properly before zooming away.
In addition, if the bus is running early on the afternoon shift and there is nobody waiting for the child, the child should NOT be let off the bus by him/herself. Young children do not belong on the gutter by themselves. Instead the adult doing the bus duty should take the child by the hand to the house and make sure someone is home to accept the child.
My child was very frightened to go even just close the gutter. He was once let off the bus to run himself onto the sidewalk. The bus was more than 15 minutes earlier than usual. Since that episode my child finds it easier to go near the sidewalk.
It is us that have the obligation to keep on demanding from the schools and yeshivos that each bus has somebody doing bus duty and not just sitting as a puppet on the bus.
Thank you for a very informative and powerful video.
In response to rosenberg, I undertand your concern but yeshivos are very often understaffed and can not usually afford the “in duty” rebbeim.
However since there are usually children of more than one family being picked up at each stop, maybe you could make an arrangement with the other parent that one should escort the children to the bus while the other one watches the little ones?