The end of the school near is quickly approaching, which means one thing: field trips! Whether your school is taking educational outings or trips to reward students for a year of hard work, many students will get on the bus and head for parks, museums, theaters, sporting events or other destinations during these last few weeks.

End-of-year field trips are the perfect opportunity to reeducate students on school bus safety before the long summer break. And because students can get overexcited – to say the least – on field trips, it’s important to reinforce bus safety behaviors before departing.

Here are a few field trip safety tips for students, teachers and chaperones:

Sit calmly and quietly: Just because students aren’t on a regular school bus route doesn’t mean that they can stand in the aisle or shout across the bus. It’s equally important that students remain quiet so the bus driver can concentrate on the road.

Know the evacuation plan: Some of the students on the field trip may not be regular bus riders, or may be on different vehicles than their normal busses. Ensure that they know what to do in case of an emergency. 

Have an appropriate chaperone-to-student ratio: This will vary based on the age of the students. Make sure the chaperones are well educated on bus safety and their duties. It’s a good idea to space chaperones throughout the bus instead of sitting them together in the front or back. 

Create a code of conduct: Distribute a document with the field trip rules and expectations to students and ensure that they have read it. Consider asking their parents to sign it.

Remember who’s in charge: The bus driver is the boss! Introduce him or her to the students and remind them of the consequences of breaking the rules.

By setting expectations and reinforcing rules, your field trip will go off without a hitch. Our interactive bus safety tools and activities can help you deliver the bus safety message without breaking the budget. Try our Super Star Cube Puzzle or Safety Message Stickers for an easy and effective way to reinforce positive bus safety behaviors. And have a fun field trip!