BACK TO SCHOOL- SCHOOL BUS SAFETY REMINDER

As the first bell rings, Beltrami County Sheriff’s Office urges motorists to drive attentively and be ready for school buses- and especially children exiting school buses.

Last year in Minnesota there were 615 bus crashes that resulted in one death (no children) and 214 injuries (of which 75 were student bus occupants). In Beltrami County the majority of students are transported to their schools in school buses. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, school buses are the safest mode of transportation for children — children are eight times safer riding in a bus to school than any other vehicles.

The Sheriff’s Office reminds motorists to anticipate children, especially in a school bus “danger zone” — the area around a bus where most injuries and deaths occur. Officials also ask parents to discuss and demonstrate pedestrian safety with their children and reinforce safe crossing after exiting a bus. “Kids are very safe in school buses, and to keep them safe all motorists need be paying attention for them and take extreme caution for exiting children,” says Sheriff Phil Hodapp.

Law requires motorists to stop for red flashing lights and when stop arms are extended — both when driving behind a bus and when coming toward a bus on undivided roads.

Beltrami County Sheriff’s Office offers these tips for pedestrians and motorists, and for parents to review with their school-age children:

School children:

• When getting off a bus, look to be sure no vehicles are passing on the shoulder (side of the road).

• Before crossing the street, take five “giant steps” out from the front of the bus, and make eye contact with the driver.

• Wait for the driver to signal that it’s safe to cross.

• Look left-right-left when coming to the edge of the bus to make sure traffic is stopped. Keep watching traffic when crossing.

Pedestrians:

• Cross only at intersections or crosswalks.

• Obey all traffic signs and signals.

• Do not enter a crosswalk if a vehicle is too close or moving too fast to stop safely.

• Remember, the law requires pedestrians take responsibility for their own safety.

Motorists:

• Motorists must stop at least 20 feet from a school bus that is displaying red flashing lights and/or its stop arm is extended when approaching from the rear and from the opposite direction on undivided roads.

• Red flashing lights on buses indicates students are either entering or exiting the bus.

• Motorists are not required to stop for a bus if the bus is on the opposite side of a separated roadway (median, etc.) — but they should remain alert for children.

• Altering a route or schedule to avoid a bus is one way motorists can help improve safety. In doing so, motorists won’t find themselves behind a bus and as a result, potentially putting children at risk.

• Watch for school crossing patrols and pedestrians. Reduce speeds in and around school zones.

• Watch and stop for pedestrians — the law applies to all street corners, for both marked and unmarked crosswalks (all street corners) — every corner is a crosswalk.

School bus safety education is a component of Beltrami County’s Safe Neighborhoods Coalition and the state’s Toward Zero Death (TZD) initiative. A primary vision of the TZD program is to create a safe driving culture in Minnesota in which motorists support a goal of zero road fatalities by practicing and promoting safe and smart driving behavior. TZD focuses on the application of four strategic areas to reduce crashes — education, enforcement, engineering and emergency trauma response.

Sheriff Phil Hodapp