Every year all school children in the state of Ohio are required to practice how to board and exit the school bus safely. In addition to boarding a school bus, the students review how to exit the bus quickly and safely in an emergency with the direction of a bus driver. These are safety precautions that are taken each year to help ensure the students have the knowledge and the skill necessary to act appropriately in an emergency. Fortunately, these skills are rarely, if ever, needed.
Drivers must also be reminded each year that school buses are on the road and every driver must obey traffic laws when it comes to school buses. During certain hours of the morning or afternoon, it seems no matter which way you turn as a driver there is a school bus; they are everywhere. They are slow, they make frequent stops, they are aggravating, they are student transportation, and the traffic laws say drivers must stop when the red lights are flashing, and the stop sign is out.
The following is posted on the North Royalton Schools Website: “According to the National Safety Council, 25 million students nationwide take the school bus daily. Approximately 26 students are killed and 9,000 injured each year in incidents involving school buses.” Most of these accidents are caused by motorists who do not follow the law when it comes to school buses.
Just as motorists are required to come to a full stop for a stationery stop sign, motorists are required to come to a full stop when a school bus has its red lights flashing and the “stop” sign is extended.
Unless you are driving on a four-lane highway, you must stop for school buses. School buses flash yellow lights as they slow to within 300 feet of picking up or dropping off students. The red flashing lights come on as the bus comes to a halt and the stop sign is extended. Drivers must stop ten feet from the bus either on the approach or behind.
Unlike city buses where passengers approach the door before their stop, students do not get up from their seats until the bus comes to a full stop. They then get up and exit the bus. Some students may have to cross the street in front of the bus; that is why oncoming drivers must stop.
The website further warns, “North Royalton City Schools’ Buses Equipped with Cameras. Many school buses in North Royalton are mounted (with cameras) on the exterior of the bus and give a clear view of the license plates of any vehicles illegally passing stopped school buses. This will be used, in addition to the (bus) driver’s report, to help the police issue citations to these drivers.”
Ohio law is specific, stop for a school bus or you will be ticketed, fined up to $1000, have points added to your license, and quite possibly have your driver’s license suspended for up to a year. In addition, your car insurance will increase. That is a hefty penalty to pay for being impatient. The lesson here is, “Stop for school buses.” For more information on school bus safety, go to the North Royalton School District’s website: www.Northroyaltonsd.org and click on School Bus Safety Reminders.

By LINDA KWARCIANY
Contributing Writer