Safety Dog Bus Tour Goes Back to School in Nashua August 23

School transportation leader First Student shines a spotlight on school-bus safety this back-to-school season through its fourth-annual Safety Dog Bus Tour.

One of 10 stops across North America, the Safety Dog Bus Tour kicks off in Nashua at the Nashua Public Library, 2 Court Street, from 5 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. at the Nashua Back-to-School Night. The tour stop reinforces safe school-bus behavior through fun, interactive activities.

“Student safety is at the heart of everything we do,” said First Student Location Manager Shawn Prendable. “The Safety Dog Bus Tour provides a timely and engaging platform to teach appropriate behavior and showcase the safety features on a First Student bus. We make it fun, so these messages are delivered in a memorable way.”

During Safety Dog Bus Tour events, students can see firsthand how a First Student bus is designed for safety inside and out; “Walk the Yellow Carpet” and pose for a photo with Safety Dog, First Student’s safety mascot; sign a safety pledge and leave with a bag full of Safety Dog goodies.

This year’s Tour stops include:

• Belvidere School District: Belvidere, Ill.
• Calgary Catholic School District: Calgary, Alberta, Canada
• Francis Howell School District: St. Charles, Mo.
• Huron Perth Student Transportation Services: Stratford, Ontario, Canada
• Irving Independent School District: Irving, Texas
• Kansas City Public Schools: Kansas City, Mo.
• Nashua School District: Nashua, N.H.
• Rochester Public Schools: Rochester, Minn.
• Saddleback Valley Unified School District: Mission Viejo, Calif.
• Watertown City School District: Watertown, N.Y.

The Tour also aims to remind motorists that they, too, have an important role in keeping bus riders safe by obeying stop arm safety laws. A recent survey suggests there could be more than 14 million illegal stop-arm passes during a school year.

Since 2015, there have been 23 stops on the Safety Dog Bus Tour. In total, more than 25,000 guests have visited a stop, and almost 9,000 students signed a safety pledge.

Tour dates, times, locations, safety tips and downloadable activities for students and parents are available at safetydogbustour.com. Safety tips and tour updates also can be found by following First Student on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram as well as the #SafetyDogBusTour hashtag.

Riding a bus is the safest way for children to get to and from school According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, school buses are approximately 70 times safer than passenger cars and 10 times safer than walking.