Drivers: Be On Lookout For Kids Returning To School

COBB COUNTY, GA — As children head back to school this week, drivers are reminded to be alert and exercise patience and caution. Impatient, uninformed or apathetic drivers pose a great threat to children waiting at school bus stops. The Georgia Department of Education recommends these safety practices:

• Be on the alert as children walk to and from their school bus stops.
• Exercise care and be responsive as children congregate and wait at their bus stops. They may be thinking about getting to school, but may not be thinking of getting there safely.
• Be ready to act when you see the yellow flashing lights on the front and the rear of a school bus. This is your warning that a bus stop is about to take place.
• Begin to slow down and look for students in the area. NEVER speed up to beat a school bus. You must be focused and exercise caution any time you are in the vicinity of a school bus stop, as student riders can sometimes be impulsive.

Abide by the law when a school bus comes to a full stop and you see the flashing red lights activate and the stop arm deploy. Motorists are required to stop in nearly every instance.

The only exceptions to this rule are when highways are separated in the center by a dirt, grass or concrete median or a center turn lane. In these situations, only vehicles following or traveling alongside a school bus in the same direction must stop.

Be attentive after stopping. You must remain stopped until all loading students are aboard in the morning or all unloading students have cleared 12 feet off the roadway in the afternoon.

Proceed with caution only after all students have safely cleared the roadway, the stop arm is cancelled and the flashing red lights are deactivated.

Release: Cobb County, Georgia

Image: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention