Well folks! It’s that time again! Time for many people to head back to school! And whether you’re a college student attending one of the local colleges or universities, or a parent trying to get some last minute school supply shopping done for your children, it is always important to know that with the school year starting back up, you can expect increased traffic on the roads. And yes, that includes those big yellow school buses!
As always with school buses, it is imperative that drivers pay close attention out on the roads…especially when those buses come to a stop to pick up or drop off passengers. If you’re not aware already; all 50 states the US have laws that revolve around school buses, specifically laws that make it illegal to pass a school bus when it is stopped (and its lights are flashing and signs are extended out). Sadly, there are too many incidents by which vehicles pass a stopped school bus as it is loading or unloading passengers, and some of those incidents have involved fatalities or serious injury.
If you don’t think I’m serious about this matter, then please take a moment to jog on over to Shawn’s School Bus Driver website, where he has a page dedicated to this matter in particular. There are also neat diagrams on the page that illustrate which situations where all traffic must stop while a school bus is loading or unloading passengers, and a couple of videos that show just what can happen when other drivers fail to follow the law. I applaud Shawn for putting his time and effort into making such an informative page!
With that said, I wish everyone that is headed back to the classroom a safe and wonderful school year!
The Global Transit Guidebook 