School officials discuss school bus stop arm safety
It’s back to school season, and that means back to safety. School bus safety in particular. School buses are responsible for transporting hundreds of children each day. But where these vehicles go, tragedy can follow, especially when drivers fail to follow traffic laws. One of those traffic laws? Stopping for school buses. Just last year, 3,505 stop arm violations were recorded in Maryland and officials are determined to lower that number.
47 ABC spoke with the supervisor of transportation for Worcester County public schools, Steve Price, and he tells us, “Our primary concern with transporting kids to and from school is safety.”
Price says that motorists need to be aware of the stop arms and should be educated on what to do when approaching a school bus. The stop arms swing out and flashes whenever it is picking up or dropping off students.
Price tells 47 ABC, “If they see the stop arm deployed Maryland law says you must stop 20 feet behind the bus or 20 feet prior to the bus if you’re approaching the bus that’s what the law says.”
However vehicles on the other side of a divided highway do not have to stop. Because of this, Worcester county does not allow students to cross a divided highway. They will make arrangements to turn around specifically for that student to get home safely.
Price tells 47 ABC, “Again we are dealing with children and sometimes children don’t always follow the rules the way they’re supposed to follow them so it’s up to whose our bus drivers and the driving public to always be cautious when they see those yellow buses on the highway.”
Price says they work very closely with law enforcement to ensure kids safety, especially considering the amount of tourism traffic through the area.
Price tells 47 ABC, “Although you anticipate that child to be at the front of the bus crossing or crossing to the right of the bus sometimes those students can’t appear out of nowhere. If the driver anticipates those type of situations well all he much safer.”
Price also tells 47 ABC he encourages parents to take their students to the bus stop, make them familiar with the surroundings and how traffic flows. He also warns students to not stand on the edge of the highway, especially when there is bad weather. The bus may not be able to stop in the same spot that it picks students up so they should plan accordingly.
