As schools are starting back, this means yellow school buses will be out on the roads transporting students to and from school. Across the state, school buses will travel over 297,000 miles transporting over 473,000 students each morning.
Please remember to safely share the road with school buses, pedestrians, and bicyclists. Each year an increasing number of motorists run the stop signs on buses that are loading or unloading students. According to Mrs. Kristen Rollins, transportation Supervisor for the Greeneville City Schools, “motorist run school bus stop signs daily. Unfortunately, the majority of violators are simply distracted and do not realize they are running a stop sign and possibly endangering the life of a child.” Be especially cautious on roads that have blind curves or hills that could obscure a stopped bus. Bus stops in these areas are typically marked with advance warning signs.
Across Greeneville and Greene County, over ninety school buses stop to load or unload over 7,000 students per day. Please keep kids safe by remembering the following points:
• Be alert to students waiting at and/or walking to and from their bus stops.
• Be extra alert in the early morning hours watching for stopped buses and children at bus stops.
• Expect a child to do the unexpected.
• Be aware that when a school bus activates its overhead yellow warning lights the bus is preparing to come to a stop. Watch for children and prepare to stop.
• When a school bus’s overhead red warning lights are activated, students are loading or unloading. Never pass a bus with its red lights and stop sign activated, as you will be putting children in danger, not to mention breaking the law.
• When a school bus has its overhead red warning lights and stop sign activated, all traffic traveling in each direction on an undivided (without a grass or raised concrete median) highway must stop. This includes the center turn lane. When a bus is stopped on a divided highway (divided by grass or a raised concrete median) only the traffic traveling in the same direction as the bus must stop.
• Most stop sign violations occur when a center turn lane is present and drivers in the far lane do not stop.
• Never “chase” a bus down if your child misses the bus. Buses are not authorized to load or unload at areas that are not regular bus stops.
• Be extremely careful on foggy and rainy mornings when visibility is limited.
• Advance warning signs for school buses loading or turning are pictured below.
Greeneville City is now hiring full-time route drivers with full benefits provided. Don’t have a CDL, we will provide training. Please apply at gcschools.net or call Kristen Rollins Transportation Supervisor at 423-787-8003 or email at [email protected].
