1-day survey finds school buses were passed illegally 884 times

Arkansas school bus drivers reported a one-day total last month of 884 instances of motorists illegally passing buses that were stopped and had their red lights flashing, the state Department of Education announced Tuesday.

Act 166 of 2019 and, before that, Act 2128 of 2005, makes it illegal for motorists to pass a stopped bus that has its red lights flashing -- which is an indication that students may be either boarding or leaving the bus.

The fines for illegally passing a stopped school bus range from $500 to $2,500, according to the Education Department.

A total of 3,896 school bus drivers, representing 227 of the state's 238 school districts, participated in the annual, one-day survey that occurred on April 24. That is an increase in participating drivers and districts as compared with April 2018 when 3,258 drivers representing 194 districts submitted reports on motorist violations. Those bus drivers reported 857 cases of illegal school bus passing by motorists.

Jerry Owens, senior transportation manager for the Arkansas Division of Public School Academic Facilities and Transportation, said in a news release that he was pleased with the high number of school systems that took part in the one-day survey.

"This indicates that our bus drivers and school districts are making school bus safety a priority and are expressing their concern about the high number of instances regarding illegal passes of stopped school buses," Owens said. "I believe motorists are becoming more aware of the law, but one instance is one too many."

In nearly every case, motorists passed on the bus driver's left side but there were 12 cases in which motorists passed on the right side of the bus -- where students enter and exit.

Owens said that motorists who are travelling in the opposite direction of a bus must stop when they see a school bus stopped and its red lights flashing, as students may need to cross the road in front of the bus to get to their destination.

The Arkansas Division of Public School Academic Facilities and Transportation conducts the survey each year at the request of the National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation Services. The survey results are intended to help both the national association and the state better determine the severity of the bus-passing issue in Arkansas and improve education and outreach efforts to the public about the law.

Metro on 05/22/2019

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