Your kids may be delayed on their way home from school this week.

“Even in the midst of a pandemic there are some things that still need to happen and school bus safety is one of them,” explains Hanover School Division Transportation Director Robert Warkentin, noting the third week of October is designated ‘School Bus Safety Week’ across the province.

As they do every year, bus drivers this week will be taking some time to discuss bus safety with their passengers. Unlike other years though, students will not physically be doing any emergency evacuation drills as they would violate COVID-19 health and safety protocols. With bus students meticulously sorted out into their separate cohorts and family groups, mitigating the virus’ potential to spread, Warkentin says practicing emergency drills seemed unwise.

“But we do want to make sure they play it through in their minds to know where they would get out if they absolutely had to,” he says.

In the stead of their typical routine, bus drivers will be taking time during their rounds this week to discuss safety and evacuation procedures where they would have ordinarily enacted them. Warkentin’s transportation department has also distributed video training to all schools in the division to further educate students on the matter. 

Though in his planning he has been especially conscious of the virus, in the case of an actual emergency, Warkentin says pandemic precautions will not necessarily be followed to the letter.

“If it is the worst-case scenario and the bus catches on fire or we have another serious situation where we need to get those students out, perhaps cohorting would take a back seat. We would get them out," he stresses. "That would be priority number one.”

Because not every student is riding the bus every day, Warkentin says many drivers will do their verbal walk-throughs multiple times to ensure all riders are up to date on their school bus safety knowledge.