One student is killed after being hit hit by a school bus and another is injured after being struck by a passing vehicle while trying to board his school bus, officials say.
In a parody of the Bee Gees’ “Stayin’ Alive,” the transportation team at West Des Moines (Iowa) Community Schools outlines several school bus safety rules while donning their best 70s attire.
H4696 would considerably raise penalties for illegally passing school buses and allow the state to overrule decisions made on the locations of some school bus stops.
Nineteen-year-old Christopher Frachiseur of Georgia fails to stop for the school bus, jumps the curb, and drives onto the sidewalk past the right passenger side of the school bus, hitting a man and two students from the same family.
A Lancaster County (S.C.) School District bus stops to pick up the student when a logging truck that was traveling toward the bus swerves to avoid another truck that is stopped for the bus. The student is not harmed.
Several transportation and safety representatives discuss with attendees the issue of illegal school bus passing and the importance of route planning and prevention with new technologies and practices.
Stop-arm cameras, partnerships with law enforcement for increased traffic patrol, and public safety campaigns are just some of the measures school districts are taking to ensure the yellow bus is the safest mode of transportation for students. Lawmakers are also introducing several federal and state safety bills.
The Maine student is preparing to get on the bus when he is struck by the vehicle. Police say the bus's flashing lights were not activated at the time of the incident.
What seems simple — stop when a school bus is stopped — is proving challenging for motorists, and our nation’s children could pay the price.
Iowa is the 23rd state to allow the Gardian Angel safety lighting system as optional equipment.