Bus safety reminder from BCS

Asheville City school buses are back on the streets August 16, and Buncombe County school buses are back on the road August 18. Buncombe County operates the eighth largest school bus transportation system in North Carolina. Each school day 290 school buses travel 15,800 miles and transport 16,700 students.

Motorists need to be extra cautious about children standing at bus stops in the mornings. It has been 10 weeks since children have been standing alongside the road waiting for the bus.

The school bus is the safest mode of surface transportation. The danger for the student lies in getting on and off the bus. When a bus is stopped to pick up children, the law requires motorists to stop for a school bus if they are traveling in the same direction as the bus. Also, motorists are required to stop for a school bus if they are traveling in the opposite direction of the bus unless the road is divided by a physical barrier, wall or median; or it is a four-lane highway divided by a center-turn lane.

A one-day stop arm count was conducted on March 23 of last school year, and bus drivers reported 63 violations. If you multiply that by the number of days in a school year, that is over 11,300 violations in a given year.

One violation is one too many. School bus drivers have been instructed to report vehicles that pass a stopped school bus. The drivers fill out a form which identifies the vehicle and includes the license tag number, and submit it to the North Carolina Highway Patrol. The troopers assigned to school bus safety in Buncombe County investigate each complaint filed. Stiff penalties accompany a conviction for passing a stopped school bus. Motorists receive five points against their driver's license, face a $200 fine, and possibly 120 days in jail. Anyone who witnesses a school bus stop arm violation should contact the Highway Patrol at 298.4252 with the vehicle license tag number.

Safety is our top priority in transporting our state's most valuable resource: Children.

For additional information on school bus safety, please visit the North Carolina School Bus Safety website at www.ncbussafety.org or contact the Buncombe County Schools’ Transportation Department at 232.4240. Also, please visit http://www.ncbussafety.org/SchoolBusSafety/SBSWlaw.html for a brochure on the North Carolina School Bus Stop Law.