Jordan School District drivers teach students how to stay safe while riding the bus

WEST JORDAN — School bus drivers in West Jordan are on a mission to save lives this school year.

On Tuesday, they traded their routes for a classroom — teaching Antelope Canyon Elementary students how to ride the bus safely.

"The bus is really high up, and some of these kids, it's very difficult to see them, especially if they get too close," Jordan School District Bus Driver Jacob Hobbs said.

Hobbs taught kids one of the most important lessons: keeping a safe distance from the school bus. They need to be at least 10 feet away.

"You stay ten feet in front of the bus, away from the sides and away from the back, just to make sure that you're easily seen by the bus driver that way we can prevent any accidents," he said.

At Antelope Elementary, students practiced boarding and exiting the bus, learned to stay seated, remain in the driver's line of sight and never to run behind the bus. "A lot of students commute via bus, so it's critical that we train them at a young age and have them practice to make sure that all of our kids are safe and seated on the bus," Antelope Canyon Elementary Principal Angela Hamilton said. "We do use sounds that they would be hearing in a normal emergency situation," Hamilton said. "Just so that they are prepared, but we also prepare them before drills so that they know when it is and is not a drill." Jordan School District Transportation Trainer Lacey Paschall said students must also watch for drivers who don't follow the law. "In the state of Utah, we have drivers around our roads every single day. Unfortunately, they don't always recognize that stop does mean stop." Paschall said. That's why she said kids are taught to rely on their driver and their own awareness.

"They're going to watch their bus driver, they're always going to look both ways so that they are always safe, no matter what the other vehicles on the road are doing," she said.

Paschall said the district needs more bus drivers. For more information or to apply visit its website.

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