SAN ANGELO, Texas — A new community action plan has been implemented by the Tom Green County Sheriff's Office regarding school bus safety.
According to a TGCSO press release, the plan will see uniformed deputies occasionally ride on local school buses to notify other deputies in marked units of any violations made by drivers such as passing the school bus when unsafe or passing a school bus while the stop sign is extended and red lights are active. Enforcement action is subsequently taken by the deputy in the marked patrol unit.
In Texas, drivers must stop for flashing red lights on a school bus, regardless of which direction the vehicle is traveling, unless a physical barrier divides the road lanes. Violators can receive up to a $1,250 fine, driver's license suspension, and even jail time, depending on the number of convictions and the seriousness of the incident. The sheriff's office stressed that knowing the flashing-light system that school bus drivers use to signal their intentions to motorists can save lives, and offered the following guidelines:
• Yellow flashing lights
Yellow flashing lights mean the bus is getting ready to stop to load or unload students. Drivers should slow down and prepare to stop.
• Red flashing lights
Red flashing lights with an extended stop sign means the bus is stopped and students are getting on or off. Drivers approaching the school bus from either direction must stop, even if the road is divided by a turning lane unless a median or other physical barrier such as a wall or fence separates the road lanes. Vehicles may not pass the school bus until the red lights stop flashing, the extended stop sign is pulled back into place, the school bus has started to move, and the bus driver signals for vehicles to proceed.
According to the press release, several of these operations have already been conducted this year and more are planned, with the goals of gaining voluntary compliance with school bus laws and increasing the safety of students and drivers on all school buses in Tom Green County.
