As new school year begins, safe driving extra important

This week students at Perry Central and Tell City schools will join Cannelton students, who have been hitting the books since last Tuesday, in going back to school.

And with students back in school it means there will be more morning and afternoon traffic on the roads from school buses, parents and high-school students. We ask that everyone be mindful of this when making their morning and afternoon commutes because if you don't, there could be some serious consequences.

According to Indiana Code 9-21-8-52, anyone who operates a vehicle and passes a stopped school bus with the arm signal device extended commits a Class B misdemeanor. However, the offense is a Class A misdemeanor if it causes bodily injury to a person.

It's unnerving to watch someone pass a school bus that has its flashing lights on and stop sign out for children to get safely off the bus and to their homes. If you don't like getting caught up in the school-day traffic, try to adjust the times you leave to avoid being caught behind a school bus. Passing a school bus is not worth taking the risk of harming an innocent child just trying to go to school or home.

Being able to drive is something teenagers look forward to so they should especially stay aware of driving to and from school with the added amount of car, bike and foot traffic.

There are also some things parents can teach their children to make them aware of their surroundings while getting on and off the school bus. According to life.familyeducation.com, children should be taught to stay away from the wheels and back of the school bus while getting on and off. Wait until after the bus has come to a complete stop before boarding or deboarding the bus. After deboarding, children should make sure the driver can see them before crossing the street.

If children drop something near the school bus, they should wait until after the bus has left to retrieve the object or ask for permission from the driver to pick it up.

Between teaching our children the proper way to board a bus and drivers being more aware of themselves and their surroundings, we hope our children will have a safe school year.

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