Back To School Transportation Safety

It's that time of year once again where the question of whether or not you are ready for school to start will be asked.  No matter which side you stand on there is no stopping it and if you think that it doesn't affect you because you don't have school aged kids then I’m here to tell you how it does.  One of my alter egos is a school bus driver as well as a driver trainer.  Every year thousands of school bus drivers are required to participate in several hours of training in order to do their job.  Part of my job as a bus driver trainer requires me to travel to Boise to receive the training material and attend training meetings where we discuss things like bus safety.  This training almost always includes stop arm violations which inevitably starts a discussion on the amount of these types of violations we see as bus drivers every year.  For those who may not know what a stop arm violation is, it is when another vehicle on the road passes a stopped school bus that has its red lights flashing.  Similar to a traffic light, school buses are equipped with both yellow and red flashing lights.  Also similar to a traffic light if a driver in another car sees yellow flashing lights they should begin to slow down and prepare to stop.  If red lights are flashing on the bus, other drivers should come to a complete stop regardless of which direction they are traveling in.  The only exception to this rule is if you are traveling in the opposite direction on highways with four or more lanes with two lanes going in each direction.  After stopping for a bus with red flashing lights drivers should remain stopped until all children are clear of the road and the bus driver turns off the red flashing lights.  

A few things drivers should consider when encountering a school bus on the road are:

1- The vast majority of students in our area that ride the bus are elementary school age.  This means that they themselves are going to be much less aware of their surroundings.  The excitement of going back to school and then returning home to report their day to their parents will often have them running on and off of the bus not thinking about road safety so it is up to us as responsible drivers to be watching for them.

2- Several buses now come equipped with stop arm cameras.  Like many other times in our lives our actions while driving are being recorded.  The days of passing a bus then denying it was you are over.  These cameras are capable of recording cars' make, model, license plate, and drivers image.

3- Local law enforcement takes these violations seriously.  Often early on in the school year an officer will follow a bus on its route to see if drivers are obeying the laws in regards to stopped school buses.  In the Boise training I mentioned earlier law enforcement officers brought dashcam videos of them doing just that.  Dozens of vehicles were caught passing buses with their flashing lights on.  It happens way more than any of us think.

4- Lastly and most importantly is that you as a driver do not want to live with the experience of causing a horrific accident because you were not watching for buses and the students they are transporting.  As bus drivers there is no worse feeling than seeing a car pass us when our lights are flashing and students are trying to load or unload.

As schools in the area begin to start the year next week please remember it takes all of us to help keep the children safe as they travel back and forth from school.  Parents please help children to follow proper loading and unloading procedures and drivers watch for the yellow school buses and their flashing lights.