Ore. district official discusses illegal bus passing

ALBANY, Ore. — Like many operations around the country, Greater Albany Public Schools’ transportation staff contends with motorists who pass their stopped school buses, and Director of Transportation Chris Ellison recently spoke to the Albany Democrat-Herald about the issue.

He told the newspaper that the department’s bus drivers make an effort to get off the road before picking up and dropping off students, and when they do have stops on busy roads, they have instructed passengers to board and find a seat quickly to minimize the time they are holding up traffic.

Ellison also said that he can understand motorists’ confusion over being forced to stop on the opposite side of a four-way highway from a school bus going the other direction. In cities like Albany, a bus driver would turn around and go to the opposite side of the highway rather than expect a child to cross those four lanes to get on or off the bus, but in more rural areas, routes do involve these types of crossings.

“The fact of the matter is, traffic has to stop,” Ellison told the Albany Democrat-Herald. “We simply can’t have two sets of laws.”

To read the full story, click here. Below is a video of Greater Albany Public Schools bus driver Terry Gleason talking with a reporter from the newspaper about illegal bus passing.