We are always amazed at how often it is that people blow past a stopped school bus. Pick the number of times you think it happens nationally, and chances are the real number is beyond your wildest guess.
For the 2018-19 school year, a survey was taken with more than 130,000 school bus drivers, and they reported that more than 95,000 drivers whizzed past their buses. In a year? No. A month? Nope. A week? Still no.
The answer is that that happens each and every school day.
It’s not as if this is a new concept. The world has been harping on this safety requirement for decades, and everyone should know by now that getting a ticket for not stopping as required is much worse than a typical speeding infraction.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
And like a speeding ticket, which indicates a level of unsafe driving that increases the chance of dying or killing someone while on the road, ignoring a stopped school bus raises the likelihood that a child, eager to be home and not thinking of safety or watching for traffic, will be injured or killed.
Now that school has started in Pine Bluff and is not far off for Watson Chapel and White Hall — and wherever else your car takes you — it’s a good time to recalibrate and remember to watch for school buses, giving them room to operate and, of course, stopping when they stop.
As part of that reminder, here are some additional thoughts from the State Police:
If driving behind a school bus, maintain a greater following distance than behind a car. This will give you more time to stop when the yellow lights start flashing.
Never pass a school bus from behind or from either direction if you are on an undivided road and the bus has stopped to load or unload children. In Arkansas, drivers can be fined up to $2,500 or face up to 90 days in jail for illegally passing a stopped school bus.
The area 10 feet around a school bus is the most dangerous for children. This is a critical zone where alertness can prevent accidents.
Stop far enough back to allow school bus riders space to enter and exit the bus safely.
Be alert, as children are often unpredictable and may take risks when crossing the road to their destination.
A new school year brings with it a number of stressors. Safely getting to and from school shouldn’t be one of them.
And the police will be watching.
“Troopers will be diligently enforcing a strict zero-tolerance policy for any drivers who unlawfully pass a stopped school bus,” said ASP Capt. Brad Lann. “There is no destination important enough to justify passing a stopped school bus and endangering the lives of children.”