This week is National School Bus Safety Week

Stopping for a school bus when its stop sign is out and illuminated seems like a no-brainer but it is a bigger national problem than one would expect.

In a survey done by the National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation Services covering 29 states (including Minnesota), there have been 76,000 reports of motorists illegally passing school buses in 2014. In Minnesota this year, there was a single day with 402 reports of illegal passing.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that there are an average of 18 student fatalities in school transportation each year including both students as passengers and waiting for their bus.

Drivers need to know that under no circumstances should you pass a school bus when children are getting on or off and the flashing stop sign should be enough of a reminder.

While it is every driver's responsibility to stop for school buses, here are some tips from the DPS for parents to make their kids' school transportation safer:

• Walk your kids to the bus stop and wait until it arrives. Tell kids to stand three giant steps back from the curb as the bus approaches and board the bus one at a time.
• A child who needs to cross the street after getting off the bus should make eye contact with the bus driver and cross when the driver indicates it’s safe.
• Be careful of straps or drawstrings that could get caught in the bus door. Children should make sure the bus driver is able to see them before they pick up anything they’ve dropped.