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National School Bus Safety Week - October 20-24th
Posted Date: 10/20/25 (7:00 AM)
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This week, during National School Bus Safety Week, we'll be sharing important information from the U.S. Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and the Missouri Coalition for Roadway Safety's "SaveMOLives" campaign about how we can all help ensure students, transportation staff, and other motorists arrive at their destinations safely.
The NHTSA is urging Missouri drivers to slow down and be aware of school buses in their communities. Although school buses are one of the safest modes of transportation, injuries and fatalities do occur outside of or near the buses. Most often, these tragedies occur because a motorist has failed to slow down and obey the bus’s stop sign, or to follow local traffic laws. Nationally, school bus passing is illegal, and it is a deadly risk to bus riders and their caregivers. Drivers should always come to a complete stop when a school bus stop-arm is extended and the red lights are flashing.
Respect the “Danger Zone”
The school bus loading and unloading area is called the “Danger Zone.” Specifically, this is any side of the bus where the bus driver can’t see the child and, therefore, the child is in the most danger. These areas include:
- 10 feet in front of the bus, where the driver may be sitting too high to see a child
- 10 feet on either side of the bus, where a child may be in the driver’s blind spots
- Behind the school bus