Missouri - For many children, riding the bus or walking to school represents a new level of freedom and maturity. It also creates new risks that you and your children should be aware of.

School buses are nearly eight times safer than passenger vehicles; however, a majority of bus-related deaths and injuries that do occur involve pedestrians - mostly children - who are struck by a bus or injured when they are exiting the bus to cross traffic.

Make every trip to and from school a safe one by following these guidelines:
Always stay in sight of the bus driver.
Don't hurry off the bus. Make sure to check traffic first.
Don't go back to the bus after exiting.
The Safe Routes to School program makes bicycling and walking to school a safer and more appealing transportation alternative. By encouraging more students to walk, wheel or bike to school, the program encourages a healthy and active lifestyle from an early age.

During the month of August, at times when MoDOT's digital message signs are not being used to convey critical information to motorists, the signs will be used to reinforce safe driving practices for back to school:


Safe Routes to School projects include sidewalk improvements, traffic calming, pedestrian and bicycle crossing improvements, bicycle parking facilities and traffic diversion - http://www.saferoutesinfo.org/.