Bus Stop Safety in Darker Fall/Winter Mornings and Evenings

In Massachusetts and the surrounding New England states, it’s not uncommon for school children to wait for buses in conditions that could be potentially hazardous. For example, waiting for a bus early in the morning or late in the afternoon may naturally involve spending time at a bus stop while it’s quite dark out. Combine this fact with potentially wintry conditions, and it’s clear that parents should instruct children on how to stay safe as they wait for the school bus to arrive.

Keep the following tips in mind to optimize your children’s safety at the bus stop. Along with safety information, the following overview will address your potential legal options if your child is harmed while waiting for a school bus, especially if they were harmed due to the negligence of another party. Review your case with a legal professional for more information about seeking compensation for medical bills and related losses resulting from a school bus accident.

Consider Reflective Clothing or Similar Items

It’s very important that your children be visible not only to bus drivers, but to anyone else who may be driving by as they wait for the school bus to pick them up. As such, it’s wise to dress them in clothing that will maximize visibility. Reflective clothing achieves this goal effectively in many circumstances.

That said, children may not be inclined to wear such clothing, as they might not be able to appreciate the value of safety over fashion at a young age. If your child doesn’t want to wear reflective clothes while they wait for the bus, you can instead consider equipping their backpack with keychains or similar items that display flashing lights.

It’s also wise to identify any well-lit areas near a bus stop that a child could wait by, assuming there are no other hazardous conditions or features in the vicinity.

Teach Children to Keep Their Distance

No matter what time of year it is, it’s always important for kids to understand that they need to maintain a certain distance from a bus’s actual stopping point to minimize the odds of an accidental collision. However, in the winter months, buses might need additional time to stop due to ice and snow.

Scout out your child’s bus stop with them and identify safe spots where they can wait as a bus comes to a full stop.

Of course, if you have the option of driving your children to the bus stop and waiting with them in the car until the bus arrives, this may also be ideal. However, if you choose this option, make sure to leave sufficient time to arrive and wait, as others may have the same idea.

In fact, because others may also be considering this option, your children should understand how to safely wait while making sure that parents dropping their kids off can see them. This means behaving predictably, not playing in the snow, and not engaging in any other such behaviors that may suddenly put them in the line of traffic.

Go Over Basic Pedestrian Laws

Waiting for the bus at the actual bus stop isn’t necessarily the only component of this process. Depending on your neighborhood, your child may have to walk to and from their stop if it’s not immediately in front of your home.

If so, take this opportunity to review safe crossing and general pedestrian laws and standards so that your children are not at risk during the journey to and from the bus stop.

What to Do If Your Child Is Harmed at a Bus Stop

Even if you take proper steps to inform your children of basic safety measures, there remains the possibility that a child could be harmed in a collision through no fault of their own. You shouldn’t have to cover your child’s medical expenses and related expenses yourself if this happens.

Fortunately, you may not have to do so. Depending on the factors surrounding the incident, you may have the option of filing an insurance claim or a lawsuit seeking financial compensation accordingly.

Do you believe you may have just such a case? If so, our team at Swartz and Swartz, P.C., offering personal injury representation services to families in Boston and throughout New England, can evaluate your case, answer your questions, and provide aggressive representation if you decide to work with us.

Learn more by contacting us online today or calling us at (617) 742-1900 to set up your free case review.

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If you or someone you know, needs help from a lawyer, contact the law offices of Swartz & Swartz, use our live chat, or send us a message using the form below and we’ll get in touch to assess your case and how we can help.