LAKE COUNTY — Thousands of children in California travel daily on school buses.
With their safety in mind, the California Highway Patrol (CHP) joins with schools throughout the country in recognizing this as National School Bus Safety Week.
This year”s theme is: “I see the driver — the driver sees me.”
“School bus drivers carry the most precious cargo,” CHP Commissioner Joe Farrow said. “The safety of our children lies in the hands of not only the bus driver who is transporting them, but every single motorist on the road.”
Eight people were killed in crashes involving school buses in 2010, the most recent year with available data, according to statistics from the CHP Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System. None of the decedents were students.
Studies prove that the most dangerous part of the school bus ride for children is when they get on and off the bus, according to the CHP. To help keep students safe, motorists should pay close attention to school buses and be cognizant of flashing bus lights.
In California, flashing yellow lights on a school bus are a warning to slow down and prepare to stop, while flashing red lights require all motorists to stop.
“Although drivers of all vehicles are required to stop for a school bus when it is stopped to load or unload passengers, children should not rely on them to do so,” Farrow said. “Children should always wait on the sidewalk, and when it is time to cross the street, they should wait for the bus driver to guide them safely across the road.”
