Safety Dog Bus Tour Goes Back to School September 28

School transportation leader First Student shines a spotlight on school bus safety this back-to-school season through its fifth-annual Safety Dog Bus Tour.

One of 12 stops across North America, the Safety Dog Bus Tour will be at the15th annual Touch-A-Truck fundraiser (benefitting the Richie McFarland Children’s Center) at the Pease International Tradeport from 9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. on September 28. The tour stop reinforces safe school-bus behavior through fun, interactive activities.

First Student is the bus transportation provider for the Exeter Region Cooperative School Board – SAU 16 and transports more than 9,000 students.

“Student safety is at the heart of everything we do,” said First Student Area General Manager David Fairweather. “The Safety Dog Bus Tour teaches elementary students appropriate school bus behavior at the start of the school year. We make it fun, interactive and most importantly, memorable.”

During Safety Dog Bus Tour events, students can see firsthand how a First Student bus is designed for safety inside and out; “Walk the Yellow Carpet” and pose for a photo with Safety Dog, First Student’s safety mascot; sign a safety pledge and leave with a bag full of Safety Dog goodies.

This year’s Tour stops include:

• Chatham-Kent Lambton Administrative School Services: Chatham, Ontario, Canada
• Exeter Region Cooperative School Board – SAU 16: Exeter, N.H.
• Fairbanks North Star Borough School District: Fairbanks, Alaska
• Gresham-Barlow School District: Gresham, Ore.
• Hamilton County Schools: Chattanooga, Tenn.
• Jefferson City Public Schools: Jefferson City, Mo.
• Lewisville Independent School District: Lewisville, Texas
• McLean County Unit District 5: Normal, Ill.
• Osseo Area Schools, ISD 279: Maple Grove, Minn.
• Racine Unified School District: Racine, Wisc.
• Wichita Public Schools: Wichita, Kans.
• William Penn School District: Lansdowne, Penn.

The Tour also aims to remind motorists that they, too, have an essential role in keeping bus riders safe by obeying stop arm safety laws. A recent survey suggests there could be more than 17 million illegal stop-arm passes during a school year.

Since 2015, there have been 33 stops on the Safety Dog Bus Tour. In total, more than 29,000 guests have visited a stop, and more than 11,000 students signed a safety pledge.

Tour dates, times, locations, safety tips and downloadable activities for students and parents are available at safetydogbustour.com. Safety tips and tour updates also can be found by following First Student on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram as well as the #SafetyDogBusTour hashtag.

Riding a bus is the safest way for children to get to and from school. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, school buses are approximately 70 times safer than passenger cars and 10 times safer than walking.