Mike Johnson
news@greenepublishing.com
With school now back in session, morning traffic goes from a peaceful stroll to organized chaos. All this chaos starts at home with kids running late, trying to remember if you packed little Johnny's lunch, your boss calling you telling you to come in early or racing to beat the clock because someone decided to hit the snooze on the alarm one too many times. With all these distractions going on, people forget some of the basics at times.
Picture speeding down a two-lane road going 60 miles per hour, in a low-lying layer of fog. The sun is hiding behind the trees, so the sky has not quite shown daybreak yet. You have little Johnny in the back seat, yelling at the top of his lungs, singing to his favorite song, and you go to take a sip of your morning coffee, when out of nowhere, all you see is STOP! Now, what do you do? In front of you, there is a ten-and-a-half-foot-tall giant metal box on wheels with children inside. The only warning you get are big, flashing lights with a sign telling you to stop, but you didn't see it because you were rushed and distracted. You lock your brakes, start sliding, little Johnny starts to scream, and your car stops at the very last second. No damage, no injuries, just spilled coffee and a scared child in the back seat holding on for dear life and a now-nervous wreck in the driver seat.
Last year, over 1,365 crashes resulted in 2,551 injuries to both school bus passengers and passengers in other vehicles. According to data the School Transportation News (STN) collected, 1,726 of the injuries were to children who were riding on the school bus. Thankfully, most injuries were reported to be minor. School bus accidents are some of the most bone-chilling ones that the community hears about. The image of children being hurt due to some negligence is one that haunts the community. According to injuryfacts.nsc.org from 2010 to 2019, about 69 percent of the deaths in school bus-related crashes were occupants of vehicles other than the school bus, and 17 percent were pedestrians. About six percent were school bus passengers, five percent were school bus drivers, and three percent were pedal cyclists.
Under Florida statute 316.172:
(1)(a) Any person using, operating, or driving a vehicle on or over the roads or highways of this state shall, upon approaching any school bus which displays a stop signal, bring such vehicle to a full stop while the bus is stopped, and the vehicle shall not pass the school bus until the signal has been withdrawn. A person who violates this section commits a moving violation, punishable as provided in chapter 318. Punishment can range from fees, fines and supercharges to jail and prison time.
(b) Any person using, operating, or driving a vehicle that passes a school bus on the side that children enter and exit when the school bus displays a stop signal commits a moving violation, punishable as provided in chapter 318, and is subject to a mandatory hearing under the provisions of s. 318.19.
(2) The driver of a vehicle upon a divided highway with an unpaved space of at least 5 feet, a raised median, or a physical barrier is not required to stop when traveling in the opposite direction of a school bus which is stopped in accordance with the provisions of this section.
(3) Every school bus shall stop as far to the right of the street as possible and shall display warning lights and stop signals as required by rules of the State Board of Education before discharging or loading passengers. When possible, a school bus shall not stop where the visibility is obscured for a distance of 200 feet either way from the bus.
The penalty for failure to stop for a school bus goes from a minimum $100 to $200 and if a second offense is committed in 5 years, the person’s license will be suspended for up to 1 year. The penalty for passing a school bus on the side that children enter and exit when the school bus displays a stop signal goes from a minimum of $200 to $400 and if a second offense is committed in 5 years, the person’s license can be suspended up to 2 years.
Madison County, remember that driving is a privilege, not a right; take your time, plan and pay attention more to your surroundings. Doing these simple things can keep you or someone else from being just another number in a statistic that we could have changed.