School Bus Safety Week Kicks Off in Montgomery County with Safety Video Featuring MCDOT’s ‘Zeal the Safety Zebra’

For Immediate Release: Tuesday, October 19, 2021

National School Bus Safety Week in Montgomery County will feature a safety video for elementary school students produced in a collaboration of the County Department of Transportation (MCDOT), Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) and the County’s Vision Zero program. The video, which emphasizes safety tips for children traveling to and from school on the bus, will feature MCDOT’s safety zebra, Zeal.

Held during the third full week of October each year, National School Bus Safety Week is a public education program encouraging parents, students, teachers, school bus operators, school administrators and other interested parties to join forces and address the importance of school bus safety.

School bus safety tips include:

• At the bus stop, have children wait in a location where the driver can see them while driving down the street. Try to avoid waiting in a house or car.
• Do not let children play in the street. Playing with balls or other toys that could roll into the street is also dangerous.
• Warn children that if they drop something getting on and off the bus, they should never pick it up. Instead, they should tell the driver and follow the driver’s instructions.
• Remind children to look to the right before they step off the bus.
• If you meet your child at the bus stop after school, wait on the side where the child will be dropped off, not across the street. Children can be so excited after school that they dash across the street and forget the safety rules.

Additional school bus safety tips are available here.

“The safety of our children is our first priority,” said Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich. “Being safe is important around the school bus as well as on the school bus and we are pleased to partner with the school system to educate students in fun and engaging ways.  Our ‘Safe Routes to School’ program, run by MCDOT, routinely engages in these activities and ties into our County’s Vision Zero plan to eliminate pedestrian deaths and serious injuries in the County.”

MCDOT offers free resources to get parents, teachers and volunteers involved in pedestrian safety surrounding their schools. For more information visit, https://bit.ly/3vdcTLq and subscribe to the Safe Routes To School newsletter here.

“This week presents a good opportunity to engage young children to teach them how to take precautions while riding a school bus,” said MCDOT Director Chris Conklin. “Parents and teachers are encouraged to share our new video featuring Zeal the Safety Zebra with young children and review safety guidance with them.”

To access the children’s safety video, go to https://bit.ly/zealbus.

For ongoing updates, follow @MCDOTNow on Twitter, visit the department website at montgomerycountymd.gov/mcdot and subscribe to MCDOT’s ‘Go Montgomery!’ newsletter.

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Release ID: 21-848
Media Contact: Emily DeTitta 240-372-2282
Categories: Transportation