With students returning to school, Ohio law enforcement agencies are reminding drivers to slow down, stay alert, and follow school bus laws as children begin making their daily trips to and from class.
Bus Safety Guidelines
Officers are urging motorists to remember a simple rule whenever they see a school bus: expect children to be nearby. School resource officers and other law enforcement officials say drivers should allow extra time during morning and afternoon commutes and avoid distractions when traveling through school zones, residential neighborhoods, and areas where buses regularly stop.
Parents are also being encouraged to review bus safety with their children before the school year gets fully underway. Children should arrive at their designated bus stop early and remain in a safe location away from traffic while waiting. They should never run into the roadway toward an approaching bus.
Students should wait until the bus has come to a complete stop, the doors have opened, and the driver indicates it is safe to board. Children should also remain alert when getting off the bus and avoid immediately crossing in front of it or moving into traffic.
Understanding School Bus Warning Lights
For drivers, understanding school bus warning lights is critical. When a school bus begins flashing its yellow warning lights, motorists should slow down and prepare to stop. When the bus activates its red warning lights and stop arm, drivers required to stop must remain stopped and may not pass the bus while children are loading or unloading.
Ohio law requires motorists approaching a stopped school bus to stop when the bus is picking up or dropping off children and its red lights are flashing. On roads with fewer than four lanes, traffic approaching the bus from both directions generally must stop.
Law enforcement agencies say that maneuvering around a stopped school bus by driving onto a shoulder, grass, or another area outside the normal travel lane can put children at serious risk because students may be crossing the roadway or moving around the bus where they are difficult for approaching drivers to see.
Parents can help by practicing school bus procedures with younger children before their first day of school. That includes showing children where to wait, how to approach the bus safely, and what to do when they get off.
Drivers should be especially cautious during the first and last portions of the school day, when children are more likely to be walking, biking, or waiting near roadways. Motorists approaching school zones should follow posted speed limits, obey crossing guards and school personnel directing traffic, and avoid distractions such as phones.
Original reporting: WOWO News/Talk (Fort Wayne) — read the source article.
