THSO Urging Drivers to Watch for Stopped School Buses

Law enforcement agencies are pushing bus stop safety tips following a string of fatal accidents across the country.

Tennessee Highway Safety Liaison Fred Sherill says drivers who encounter a stopped school bus need to pay attention to their surroundings.

“Drivers just need to be really aware when they’re around school buses whether they’re picking up or dropping off,” Sherill said. “Watch for those flashing yellow lights, especially for the red stop sign lights… or when the lights change to red, meaning all traffic has to stop in both directions.”

Sherill says the Highway Safety Office does not normally see bus stop accidents during this time of year.

“It seems like most of those trends occur when schools is either… getting out, or in September when you have a lot of new kids and new drivers,” Sherill said. “It seems like we see an [increase] during those times.”

Sherill says traffic still must stop for school buses even on four-lane roads with no center wall or grass median.

“Even though you get on a roadway with a double-lane and that kind of stuff, if that school bus is stopping and puts that red [stop sign] out, all lanes of traffic must stop,” Sherill said. “That youngster may come out from the opposite side of the roadway trying to catch that bus or get off to go home.”

Sherill says in the case of a median separating the roadways, traffic only needs to stop if it’s heading the same direction as the school bus.

“If there is a median, they’re only going to be able to drop off or pick their children up on the side of the road that they’re at and not expect children to cross the median,” Sherill says. “Common sense rules are that if you’ve got a grass median or something like that, they’re not going have children crossing that to get to the school bus, or leave the school bus to get back to their home.”

Sherill says the end of Daylight Savings Time and changing seasons means buses will pick up and drop off students during different conditions.

“Slow down, pay attention, and since the time has changed and everything now, we’re going to have some low-light conditions when kids are getting on the bus and off the bus,” Sherill said. “Make sure your headlights and everything are good and be aware of your surroundings.”

At least six accidents claimed the lives of five children across the country last week, including three siblings under the age of 10 who were run over in Indiana. A 24-year-old woman in the Indiana accident was charged with three counts of reckless homicide after attempting to pass a stopped school bus.