Things to Keep in Mind With School Buses Back on the Road

The back-to-school countdown is officially over. Missoula County Public Schools welcomed K, 6th, and 9th grades back to the classroom today - with all other grades having their first day of school tomorrow. Dang.....summer breaks always went by so fast when I was in school.....but it feels even faster now that I'm a parent. It really does feel like I blinked and - poof - it was gone.

With the new school year, we had a story last week about not posting too much information on social media when you're showing off those first-day photos. And today brings the reminder about bus safety as kids will be near the road while getting on and off at local bus stops.

Bless each and every school bus driver out there. I know my friends and I were a bit of a handful when we were all riding the bus. It takes a lot of patience to tote a bunch of kids around! But their job is to get your kids from A to B and keep them safe. And a great article from KPAX laid out a bunch of tips and reminders - for kids, parents, and drivers - when it comes to keeping everyone safe.

Some of them include:

• Stop at least 10 feet away from a school bus that has its red lights flashing and stop arm extended.

• Vehicles traveling in the same direction as the bus are required to stop when the red lights are flashing. Vehicles moving in the opposite direction are also required to stop.

• Teach your children to ask the driver for help if they drop something near the bus.

• Take 10 giant steps away from the bus before crossing in front of it.

• If you have safety concerns about the bus stop location, please contact the school.

That's just a small sample of safety tips from the article. Check out the complete list and review them with your kids to make sure the bus stop and bus ride are as safe as possible.

Now, let's start counting down the days until summer break begins!