With school back in session, parents have been riding up and asking me what they can tell their children regarding safety and the school bus.

Let me put the brakes on some of their concerns and provide some information on this topic. School buses are probably the safest form of highway transportation. Your child is seventy times more likely to get to school safely on a school bus than in a car.

Yet accidents can and do occur around school buses and about two-thirds of them happen to pedestrians who are outside the bus. In fact, the greatest risk for your child is not while they are riding the bus, but as they are approaching and/or leaving the bus.

Best practices to stay safe around school buses

– Have your child at the bus stop at least five minutes before the bus arrives so they are not apt to run in front of it as it pulls up.

– Children should walk to the bus on the sidewalk and if there is no sidewalk then on the left side of the road facing the traffic.

– Respect the Danger Zone which surrounds all sides of the bus. This zone is 10 feet wide on all sides of the bus. A child should always be out of this zone where the driver can see them, meaning they should only cross in front of and not behind the bus and always outside the danger zone.

– Do not step onto the bus until the driver says it is ok.

– When on the bus, remind your child to sit quietly and follow the driver’s instructions at all times and never to block the aisles with themselves or objects.

– While not all buses have seat belts, The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that new school buses should all have safety restraints — meaning lap/shoulder belts that can also accommodate car safety seats and booster seats as well.

– On exiting the bus, remind your child to be careful with clothing with drawstrings or bookbags with straps so they do not get caught in the handrail or door.

– Remind your child to never speak to strangers at the bus stop or get into a car with someone they do not know who might be offering a ride home.

Hopefully, tips like these will take care of bus-iness or should I say business when it comes to your child being safe around and on the school bus this year.

Lewis First, MD, is Chief of Pediatrics at The University of Vermont Children’s Hospital and Chair of the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Vermont’s Larner College of Medicine. You can also catch “First with Kids” weekly on WOKO 98.9FM and NBC5.