National School Bus Safety Week is October 21-25
By Bruce Rolfe
With National School Bus Safety Week approaching October 21-25, school bus drivers in both the Climax-Scotts and Galesburg-Augusta School District hope drivers, along with students, will focus more on obeying a few simple rules that will help keep students and drivers safe.
Bus drivers in both local school districts are seeing a concerning uptick in both aggressive and distracted driving.
Bus drivers say there has been a disturbing increase in the number of vehicles who pass the school bus and ignore red warning lights that require drivers to stop while students get on and off the bus.
C-S Transportation Supervisor Tim Bridges and G-A Transportation Supervisor Jessica Rausch, who regularly drive bus routes because of a shortage of drivers in their respective school districts, both said they are alarmed and terrified at the escalating number of illegal school bus passing incidents despite red flashing signals.
“It scares me to death,” said Bridges.
“There has been (an uptick) recently, majorly,” adds Rausch.
Both transportation supervisors said some buses in their respective fleets are equipped with cameras that can capture photos of cars and the license plate on a vehicle. Both transportation supervisors said they have forwarded photo and video violation evidence to the Kalamazoo County Sheriff Department, who can then issue a fine, which Bridges said is $500.
“It’s pretty hard to fight it. You’ve got the picture of the car going through the bus lights. You can see on the video, we get to see that the stop sign (on the bus) has come out, with the flashers that come out. If it’s out and they get through those red lights, their $500 is their loss,” said Bridges.
Bridges said fortunately there haven’t been any close calls with students, but local residents may recall one incident many years ago when former C-S bus driver Joann James alertly pulled a student back towards the inside of the bus moments before the student was about to step off the bus after she observed in her mirror a vehicle about to pass the C-S bus despite red warning flashers going.
Bridges said school districts use various hand signs to alert students when it is safe to cross the road. He said the C-S School District policy is for bus drivers to give a thumbs up sign to the students when it is safe to cross the road. If a school bus driver does observe a driver of a car that may be about to ignore the red warning flashers, the school driver can honk the horn to alert the students it is not safe to cross the road.
Bridges said a pattern of aggressive and dangerous driving seems to have increased since the Covid pandemic.
“It’s gotten a lot worse. Even though they have outlawed cell phone (usage) and texting while you’re driving, people are still doing that and driving. And that’s dangerous because they’re not paying attention to the road, they’re looking at their phone,” said the C-S Transportation Supervisor.
Rausch feels an overall pattern of aggressive driving is becoming more prevalent.
“Everybody is just in a hurry. No matter whether they are on their phone or not, they are just always in a hurry. And you can feel it. Even if there is a vehicle behind you and you’re coming up to a stop sign and you’re looking in your mirror, you can feel it. It seems like they’re getting closer, and closer and closer to you,” said the G-A Transportation Supervisor.
Both Transportation Supervisors agreed driver aggression can put more pressure on the bus drivers.
It’s also important for parents to talk to their students about bus safety. Rausch said students are asked to remain in the seat properly and keep quiet, allowing the driver to concentrate on driving without distractions inside the bus. She said unfortunately, recently there has been a pattern of younger students not staying in their seats.
The Transportation Supervisor adds because there is currently a shortage of school bus drivers, she has had to combine bus routes, which could mean having 65-75 students on a bus, “and I’ve got kids crawling around on the floor.”
“We’ve got a lot of young, new students, so it’s very hard for them to stay in their seats. They’re on the floor,” said Rausch.
Drivers are still needed in both school districts. If you are interested in this opportunity, in the C-S School District go to the C-S School District website at csschools.net and click job opportunities, or call the transportation department at 269-746-5130. In the G-A School District, call the transportation department at 269-484-2015.
Understanding School Bus Lights
Yellow flashing lights indicate the bus is preparing to stop to load or unload children. You should slow down and prepare to stop your vehicle.
Red flashing lights and extended stop arms indicate the bus has stopped and children are getting on or off. You must stop your car and wait until the red lights stop flashing, the extended stop-arm is withdrawn, and the bus begins moving, before you can start driving again.
With National School Bus Safety Week approaching October 21-25, school bus drivers in both the Climax-Scotts and Galesburg-Augusta School District hope drivers, along with students, will focus more on obeying a few simple rules that will help keep students and drivers safe.
Bus drivers in both local school districts are seeing a concerning uptick in both aggressive and distracted driving.
Bus drivers say there has been a disturbing increase in the number of vehicles who pass the school bus and ignore red warning lights that require drivers to stop while students get on and off the bus.
C-S Transportation Supervisor Tim Bridges and G-A Transportation Supervisor Jessica Rausch, who regularly drive bus routes because of a shortage of drivers in their respective school districts, both said they are alarmed and terrified at the escalating number of illegal school bus passing incidents despite red flashing signals.
“It scares me to death,” said Bridges.
“There has been (an uptick) recently, majorly,” adds Rausch.
Both transportation supervisors said some buses in their respective fleets are equipped with cameras that can capture photos of cars and the license plate on a vehicle. Both transportation supervisors said they have forwarded photo and video violation evidence to the Kalamazoo County Sheriff Department, who can then issue a fine, which Bridges said is $500.
“It’s pretty hard to fight it. You’ve got the picture of the car going through the bus lights. You can see on the video, we get to see that the stop sign (on the bus) has come out, with the flashers that come out. If it’s out and they get through those red lights, their $500 is their loss,” said Bridges.
Bridges said fortunately there haven’t been any close calls with students, but local residents may recall one incident many years ago when former C-S bus driver Joann James alertly pulled a student back towards the inside of the bus moments before the student was about to step off the bus after she observed in her mirror a vehicle about to pass the C-S bus despite red warning flashers going.
Bridges said school districts use various hand signs to alert students when it is safe to cross the road. He said the C-S School District policy is for bus drivers to give a thumbs up sign to the students when it is safe to cross the road. If a school bus driver does observe a driver of a car that may be about to ignore the red warning flashers, the school driver can honk the horn to alert the students it is not safe to cross the road.
Bridges said a pattern of aggressive and dangerous driving seems to have increased since the Covid pandemic.
“It’s gotten a lot worse. Even though they have outlawed cell phone (usage) and texting while you’re driving, people are still doing that and driving. And that’s dangerous because they’re not paying attention to the road, they’re looking at their phone,” said the C-S Transportation Supervisor.
Rausch feels an overall pattern of aggressive driving is becoming more prevalent.
“Everybody is just in a hurry. No matter whether they are on their phone or not, they are just always in a hurry. And you can feel it. Even if there is a vehicle behind you and you’re coming up to a stop sign and you’re looking in your mirror, you can feel it. It seems like they’re getting closer, and closer and closer to you,” said the G-A Transportation Supervisor.
Both Transportation Supervisors agreed driver aggression can put more pressure on the bus drivers.
It’s also important for parents to talk to their students about bus safety. Rausch said students are asked to remain in the seat properly and keep quiet, allowing the driver to concentrate on driving without distractions inside the bus. She said unfortunately, recently there has been a pattern of younger students not staying in their seats.
The Transportation Supervisor adds because there is currently a shortage of school bus drivers, she has had to combine bus routes, which could mean having 65-75 students on a bus, “and I’ve got kids crawling around on the floor.”
“We’ve got a lot of young, new students, so it’s very hard for them to stay in their seats. They’re on the floor,” said Rausch.
Drivers are still needed in both school districts. If you are interested in this opportunity, in the C-S School District go to the C-S School District website at csschools.net and click job opportunities, or call the transportation department at 269-746-5130. In the G-A School District, call the transportation department at 269-484-2015.
Understanding School Bus Lights
Yellow flashing lights indicate the bus is preparing to stop to load or unload children. You should slow down and prepare to stop your vehicle.
Red flashing lights and extended stop arms indicate the bus has stopped and children are getting on or off. You must stop your car and wait until the red lights stop flashing, the extended stop-arm is withdrawn, and the bus begins moving, before you can start driving again.
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