Area bus patrollers get safety tips

Area elementary school bus patrols were treated to safety training last week at the Leamington Fairgrounds courtesy of Switzer-Carty Bus Lines and CAA.

The safety event was held over a three-day period with the Leamington area schools at the fairgrounds on Wednesday, September 20.

Bus patrol leaders were bused in to participate in four different stations, where they learned skills to deal with bus safety and emergency situations.

The patrols took part in a leadership video session and then moved on to the ‘hydro hop’ station, where they learned how to compact their bodies and hop around to avoid being electrocuted by downed power lines. After that, they moved on to a session involving bus safety equipment and then to a station where they sat in the driver’s seat to observe the things that go on around the bus from the driver’s standpoint.

Carolyn Rogers of Switzer-Carty oversaw the operation, which concluded with fire extinguisher training — the most popular activity of the day.

The School Safety Patrol program is put on by CAA and a safety booklet was part of the package given to each of the students.

In the fire extinguisher training, students were given tips on how to operate a fire extinguisher and then given hands-on training with a real fire — taking turns putting the fire out.