It has been a couple of months since Saline County motorists have shared the streets, roadways and highways with big, yellow school buses.
With school staring on Aug. 17, the Bryant School District wants to remind motorists to obey all traffic laws whenever they are near a school bus. It is illegal to pass a stopped school bus whenever its red lights are flashing and students are getting on or off a bus. School bus drivers are trained to activate amber lights on their school buses at least 300 feet before they stop as a warning to motorists. The lights automatically turn red when the driver stops the bus and opens the door.
Motorists approaching the bus from either side must stop until the red lights are turned off.
The district is actively supporting and participating in the statewide Flashing Red. Kids Ahead. Awareness campaign. Bryant’s Transportation Director Tom Farmer has led the statewide effort.
“We want to ask drivers to be careful and patient whenever they are near or around a school bus. Our bus drivers take the safety of our students very seriously… so should other drivers,” said Farmer.
For the past three years, Farmer has been instrumental in getting local school districts on board and working with the Arkansas Department of Education to support the program.
“School bus safety is an important issue in every Arkansas community, and we must all work together to make sure students travel safely to and from school and school-related activities each day,” he said.
Everett Buick GMC is the premier sponsor of the statewide safety campaign.
