Stop for School Buses; Slow Down in School Zones
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Drivers who do not stop and stay stopped for the red flashing lights of school buses put youth at risk.
Drivers who don’t stop are a daily problem for Klamath County School District school bus drivers
It was too close.
Last year, a 7-year-old boy in Keno was nearly hit by a car that didn’t stop for a school bus with flashing red lights. Instead, the driver passed the bus, coming within a few feet of the boy who was crossing the road to meet his mother.
“The flashing red lights were on, and a car came from behind the bus, trying to pass,” said Shawn Snoozy, transportation supervisor for the Klamath County School District. “It was a very close call. If the student had walked another few feet …”
The car didn’t stop, but the boy’s mother and bus driver got the vehicle’s license plate and called Oregon State Police, who issued the driver a citation.
School starts Tuesday, and drivers need to be aware of the dangers of not stopping for school buses or slowing down in school zones.
Klamath County School District’s fleet of buses will be back on the roads Tuesday. Drivers need to be aware and stop from both directions and all lanes of traffic if they see red flashing lights.
The situation with the Keno boy, unfortunately, is not uncommon, Snoozy said, recalling another close call that involved a dump truck driver who didn’t stop for red flashing lights of a school bus and nearly hit a girl. Throughout the school year, drivers disobey the yellow and red flashing lights of school buses, putting youth at risk.
“It happens daily,” Snoozy said. “In some cases, I think drivers are naïve to the law.”
The law states that drivers coming from both directions need to stop for school buses with red flashing lights, and cannot continue until the lights are turned off. Drivers must stop in both directions even if it is a four-lane road with two lanes in either direction.
School bus drivers start flashing yellow lights 200 feet before a bus stop, indicating to other drivers to slow down and be cautious. Once the bus door opens, the red flashing lights and a stop sign that unfolds are automatically triggered.
Unlike red flashing traffic signals – which drivers treat like a stop sign – red flashing school bus lights mean stop – and stay stopped -- until the lights are turned off and the bus starts moving again.
“When you see the yellow lights, you need to be really cautious,” Snoozy said. “Slow down, don’t speed up. If the bus is stopped, you should be stopped. And you need to stay stopped until red flashing bus lights turn off and the stop sign folds in.
“Even then proceed with caution,” he added. “Even if the lights are off, a kid might be running to catch the bus or students might run back to the bus because they left something.”
The most troublesome areas are busy thoroughfares such Homedale Road, Shasta Way and Summers Lane. Because of the rural and widespread geography of the county district, bus routes and stops also are on highways, including 97, 140 and 39.
Since Snoozy started working for the district 30 years ago, no student has been hit by a vehicle while entering or exiting a school bus, but close calls are frightening enough. He encourages parents and other adults who take or pick up students from bus stops to help keep them safe.
Make sure students have their supplies stowed safety in their backpacks or bags, he said. A student who drops something often will dart back into a traffic lane to retrieve it. Also, Snoozy encourages parents to make sure an adult meets a younger child at the bus stop to make sure they cross safely.
“Parents need to educate their kids to follow the directions of the bus driver,” he said. “When they get off, they are supposed to stand in front of the bus until the driver signals it’s safe to cross. But kids often don’t do that.”
Press release provided from Marcia Schlottman, Public Relations, Klamath County School District.