Tuesday, September 22, 2015

School transportation directors spotlight passing of buses picking up or dropping off children

Vehicles continue to commit stop-arm violations—illegally passing school buses that have stopped to pick up or discharge passengers. A National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation Services one-day survey, involving 102,371 buses in 26 states, found 78,518 illegal passes occurred, Aaron Mudd reports for the Bowling Green Daily News. Some school districts have begun using cameras to catch motorists illegally passing buses.

Kentucky wasn't part of the survey, but Mudd reports that Warren County (Family Search map) has an unusually high rate of stop-arm charges. County schools Transportation Director John Odom said that since school opened Aug. 11, the district has reported 15 violations. In the Bowling Green independent district, Transportation Director Michael McCloud said stop-arm violations are “almost a daily occurrence.-

Warren County, with a population of 120,000 in a state of 4.3 million, had 23 of the state's 62 stop-arm charges through July, Mudd writes. It also had disproportionate shares in recent years.

McCloud, who said "drivers should stop when they see lights flashing on a bus and not proceed until the flashing ends," told Mudd, "It really comes down to people not paying attention or not being aware of the rules regarding school buses.” (Read more)

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