Highway patrol urges drivers to use caution around school buses

BRUNSWICK COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — Thousands of school buses are hitting the roadways as students return to school and that’s why the North Carolina State Highway Patrol (NCSHP) is ramping up its focus on drivers who commit violations that could cause injuries or worse.

“All summer we’ve had the luxury of being able to ignore the school zones, now that school is back in session we’re having to leave a little early to allow time to get to our destination,” said Eric Mellott who serves as a Public/Traffic Safety Trooper with NCSHP.

The highway patrol says drivers should especially use caution near high schools where there are more inexperienced drivers on the roads.

“We try to schedule our troopers in and around the school zones so that we make sure the young drivers see our cars and remind them to obey the state law,” Mellott said. “We want them to be safe getting home, we don’t want them paying too much attention to distractions.”

For students who have to wait for their bus early in the morning before sunrise, that poses another hazard.

“A lot of these school bus stops are in low-light conditions and we have young students in close proximity to the highways so please look around the shoulders and reduce your speed especially around homes,” Mellott said.

In a couple of weeks, troopers will take part in the Governor’s Highway Safety Program called “Operation Stop Arm.”

“That’s where we actually put a trooper on the bus, we won’t announce which one, but we’ll have a trooper on the bus with a radio and a patrol car in close proximity,” he said. “So if we see a violation, we can call it in and cite that driver for that violation.”

According to state law, motorists are required to stop when a school bus is displaying its mechanical stop signal or flashing red lights and the bus is stopped for the purpose of receiving or discharging passengers. The driver of any other vehicle that approaches the school bus from any direction on the same street, highway, or public vehicular area should come to a complete stop.

Here are some other reminders from the highway patrol:
• Plan ahead for potential delays between the hours of 6 – 9 a.m. and 2 – 4 p.m.
• Never pass a stopped school bus under any circumstance
• Reduce speeds when approaching school zones
• Avoid driving distracted
• Be mindful of school bus stops along chosen routes
• Stay alert in and around school zones for pedestrians and crossing guards

Finally, if you see a driver committing a violation near a school or bus, there’s a good chance the violation is being recorded on video.

“A lot of the buses are equipped with the stop-arm camera so about half of the buses we have on the road have that equipment,” he said. “If we do see an obvious violation or near-miss situation dial the highway patrol at *47.”

One final reminder, Mellott encourages parents to remind their children not to wear ear buds when they’re waiting to board a bus.