Here are Some Back-to-School Safety Tips as Students Head Back to Class

Kids of all ages are either already back to school or preparing for their first day across Miami-Dade, Broward and Monroe counties, and it is no surprise that parents may be a little uneasy for their safety and well-being.

Whether it be school transportation or staying safe given the recent events involving gun violence, NBC 6 is offering tips to keep children as safe as possible when they leave for school.

Tips for School Bus Safety

Students returning to in-person learning may depend on school buses to get them to and from their school safely.

If you are driving, the Department of Transportation urges drivers to remember these rules:

• Yellow flashing lights on a school bus mean drivers should slow down because the bus is preparing to stop. It is likely that students are waiting to get on the bus or parents are waiting nearby to pick up their children. 
  
• Red flashing lights mean stop and to stay at least 20 feet behind the bus because children are getting on or off the school bus. You should remain stopped until the red lights stop flashing, the extended stop-arm is withdrawn, and the bus begins moving.
  
• Even when lights aren’t flashing, watch for children around school arrival and dismissal times. Be alert as you back out of a driveway, or drive through a neighborhood, school zone or bus stop.

Parents are also urged to speak to their children about bus safety and teach them to play it SAFE.

• Stay five steps away from the curb.
• Always wait until the bus comes to a complete stop and the bus driver signals for you to board.
• Face forward after finding a seat on the bus.
• Exit the bus after it stops and look left-right-left for cars before crossing a street.

Tips for Bicycle Safety

As the cases of COVID-19 continue and cases of monkeypox remain on the rise, many people have turned to bicycle riding as fun and safer way to get out and exercise and a quick way to travel to school.

When children are riding their bikes, be sure that they always wear a correctly fitted helmet with a securely fastened chin strap. Kids should always ride in the same direction as traffic and follow proper traffic signs and signals while staying in the bike lane whenever possible.

Pedestrian Safety

Whether your child is doing virtual learning, in-person instruction, or somewhere in between, it is possible they will be a pedestrian at some point in the day.

If they are walking, they should use the sidewalk whenever possible and if there isn't one, walk on the edge of the street facing traffic. Use crosswalks to cross the street whenever possible and look both ways for bikes or vehicles.

Remind children to make sure never to play, push or shove others when walking around traffic.

If you are driving, especially in a neighborhood or school zone, look out for pedestrians at all times.

Gun safety

One of the biggest fears for parents today is whether their children will be safe in school given the increase in mass shootings across the country.

In July, President Joe Biden signed the nation's most significant gun reform bill in decades into law after years of stalled efforts to tighten gun laws.

But despite the strides to make schools gun-free, it is important that gun safety begins in the home.

The American Academy of Pediatrics advises that the safest home for a child is one without guns, but if you decide to keep guns in the home, be aware that many studies show that teaching kids about gun safety, or to not touch a firearm if they find one, is not enough.

All guns in your home should be locked and unloaded, with ammunition locked separately. Make sure children and teens cannot access the keys or combinations to lock boxes or gun safes.