(Undated)– This week is National School Bus Safety Week, and both local and state officials are reminding drivers to always prioritize safety when approaching a stopped school bus. It’s illegal to pass a school bus when the stop arm is extended and red lights are flashing — a rule designed to protect children entering or exiting the bus. Officials advise drivers to “slow on yellow and stop on red,” emphasizing that if the stop arm is extended, children are crossing ahead. Sioux County Deputy and School Resource Officer (SRO) Jessica Dorhout describes the types of reactions officers often hear from drivers who violate the school bus law…
“A lot of them will say, either A, I didn’t even notice, or they looked up and there wasn’t enough time to stop. We just encourage people to be paying attention, especially if you see a school bus, especially if you’re on a road when a school bus might be on the road, pay close attention because we don’t always know what the kids are going to do or which direction they’re going and to take the extra couple of seconds that it takes just to make sure everybody stays safe.”
Dorhout believes that some of the violations may stem from drivers being distracted or simply lacking experience on the road…
“I think distracted driving is an issue just in general and that we’re seeing just across the board, and hopefully the new laws will change some of that, too. But I think also some of what we see is just inexperienced drivers and even just talking with different drivers, like hey, the bus just pulled off to the side of the road, I didn’t know if I need to stop.”
Dorhout says they also continue to educate students who may be riding the buses…
“In the schools we do school bus safety every year as required, and currently we’re going through that with some of the school districts and so the kids are often reminded to pay attention to their surroundings and stuff, so we are educating the kids as much as we can so that they can remain safe so even if there is an inattentive driver or perhaps somebody just can’t get stopped in time or can’t slow down because of road conditions or something like that. And then just always talking to our bus drivers too, about reporting when they have major issues happening.”
In Iowa, vehicles traveling on roads with three lanes or fewer must stop in both directions when a school bus is stopped with its lights flashing and stop arm extended. On four-lane roads or larger, only the vehicles traveling in the same direction as the bus are required to stop.
The Iowa DOT urges all motorists to stay alert and avoid distractions, especially in school zones or rural areas where children may be boarding buses. Violating these laws can result in fines, license suspension, and — more importantly — tragic consequences.
(Courtesy Community First Broadcasting station KSOU in Sioux Center)
