WEST JORDAN — Soon-to-be students and their parents got a first-hand look at a school bus during the third annual Safety Dog Bus Tour Wednesday at West Jordan Library.
First Student Inc., a private bus transport company in Ogden, invited children and their parents to look at and tour a school bus, have their picture taken with the safety dog mascot and take a pledge to follow bus safety rules — in exchange for a "swag bag" filled with a coloring book, sunglasses and a water bottle.
Diana Winter said while she was at the park with her children, they saw the bus tour and wanted to learn more.
Although her children have not ridden a school bus yet, the West Valley City mother of two said she thinks the experience is important "just to get them prepared so it’s not so new to them when they come in.”
Chris Kemper, spokesman for First Student, said one goal of the tour was to show parents how safe buses are. "A school bus is built for safety really from top to bottom," he said.
According to the National Highway Traffic Administration, school buses are the safest mode of transportation to and from school, and are 70 times safer than driving.
Kemper added that modern-day school buses are much safer than older buses, although "to the untrained eye, the school bus doesn’t look terribly different than it did 10, 20 or 30 years ago."
Jared Bond, location manager for First Student, said the tour hopes to familiarize families with buses before the school year starts, as well as teach kids in preschool about school buses before they have to ride one.
"It’s an opportunity to go out and expose families to the school bus, it gives them an opportunity to get on the bus and ... prepare to ride the bus as they get older," he said.