National School Bus Safety Week, which runs through Friday, aims to bring together parents, students, educators, law enforcement and drivers — both bus drivers and everyday motorists — to put the importance of school bus safety at the forefront.
“I can confidently speak for any mother or father, grandparent, brother or sister,” he added. “So, we have to take it seriously. When we traverse our roadways, we have to pay attention to school buses.”
Automobile crashes are the leading cause of death among teenagers, according to AAA, which is promoting National Teen Driver Safety Week, which also runs this week and ends Saturday.
Citing state Highway Patrol data, AAA said nearly 35,000 crashes on Ohio roads in 2023 involved a teen driver and 113 were fatal.
Since 2019, there have been 6,145 traffic crashes involving Ohio school buses, according to the state patrol. More than 2,000 injuries were reported, Ross said.
Eight fatalities, including the August 2023 death of 11-year-old Aiden Clark in Clark County were reported, he added.
The minivan driver, Hermanio Joseph, was convicted May 1 of first-degree felony involuntary manslaughter and fourth-degree felony vehicular homicide. Joseph has filed an appeal.
“Every day, our children depend on school buses to get us to school safely,” OSHP Lt. Chad Smith said this week at Springboro High School, which hosted an event spotlighting the issue. “These bright yellow school buses are vital to their education and to their daily lives. It’s our shared responsibility to make sure their journeys are as safe as possible.”
Ohio has some specific laws about driving near school buses that are delivering or picking up students. The law says that if a school bus is stopped on a street or road that has three or fewer lanes, all traffic proceeding in either direction must stop. If the road has four or more lanes, only traffic proceeding in the same direction as the bus must stop. Any vehicles that were required to stop cannot proceed again until the school bus resumes motion, or if the driver signals people to proceed.
Credit: Marshall Gorby
Credit: Marshall Gorby
Since 2019, OSHP troopers have written nearly 16,000 citations for passing a stopped school bus and other school zone violations, according to the state.
Educators said it is also imperative that drivers obey school zone speed limits, be aware of surroundings while in them, and pay attention to students at crosswalks and those close to a street.
“Remember these tasks and encourage others to know them,” Springboro Superintendent Carrie Hester said.
Ross said driver safety near school buses is “important because children are our most precious cargo. As we traverse our roadways … We have to protect them.”
Credit: Nick Graham
Credit: Nick Graham
“This shouldn’t be just in the morning. It shouldn’t just be in the afternoon,” Ross said, noting school buses also transport students involved in extracurricular activities into the evenings. “We have to be cognizant of it throughout the entire day. We have to pay attention. We have to take it seriously. Anytime we see a school bus, proceed with caution.”
In the past five years, the state has performed more than 200,000 school bus inspections, he said. Each one is inspected twice annually, once prior to the school year as well as a later “spot” or random inspection, Ross said.
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