WASHINGTON, DC, June 27, 2024 – Every school day, 480,000 school buses travel the nation’s roads. With approximately 140,000 miles of railroad tracks and more than 200,000 highway-railroad grade crossings across the U.S., school bus drivers need to know how to make informed decisions when driving near tracks and trains. Operation Lifesaver, Inc. (OLI), the nonprofit rail safety education and awareness organization, is releasing Decide Smart, Arrive Safe – a new video training tool helping school bus drivers understand how to make safe choices when navigating railroad crossings along their routes.
Says OLI Executive Director Rachel Maleh, “Our new Decide Smart, Arrive Safe video training package enhances OLI’s free instruction for school bus drivers, providing vital safety information for these transportation professionals. School bus drivers who view Decide Smart, Arrive Safe gain practical tips and information they can use immediately. We want all school districts – and their bus drivers – to know about this free rail safety education tool. While crossing incidents involving school buses are infrequent, this new resource can help stop track tragedies and save lives.”
Decide Smart, Arrive Safe is made up of four engaging training videos, offering clear information and actionable safety procedures for school bus drivers:
- Know the Signs and Signals reviews important signs and signals around railroad crossings that school bus drivers may encounter along their routes and what they mean.
- Know the Facts shares train safety facts drivers need to know to keep themselves and their passengers safe around railroad crossings.
- In Their Own Words takes viewers on board a school bus with a demonstration of safe railroad crossing procedures for drivers. The video incorporates peer-to-peer communication, with veteran school bus drivers sharing real-life experiences and safety tips.
- 5 Alive! shows the five steps school bus drivers should take to make every crossing a safe one.
The four videos may be viewed together in any order or individually as appropriate for the training situation. Additional free resources include a facilitation guide for school bus driver trainers, a student guide for school bus driver trainees and a post-training quiz.
Decide Smart, Arrive Safe was created through a grant from the Federal Railroad Administration. The videos and training materials may be found at https://oli.org/safety-near-
OLI offers other safety resources for school bus drivers including brochures, posters, videos and more. Operation Lifesaver Authorized Volunteers, or OLAVs, offer free rail safety presentations to a wide range of audiences across the U.S. – including school bus drivers, teachers and K-12 students. To schedule a presentation, learn more about becoming a volunteer and/or making a difference in your community, visit oli.org today.
