Monticello Live

Today is the day Arkansas students face the dreaded First Day of School.  It’s also the day parents and other drivers face the First Day of School Traffic.

Remember to use caution, especially in the school and residential areas of Monticello.

In an effort to ensure the safety of its students while buses are loading or unloading, the Monticello School District would like to make sure laws regarding passing of school buses are available to area citizens. We are working with the Monticello Police Department and Drew County Sherriff Department to curb violations.

Both departments have assured us of their support. They will be making special efforts to observe violators of this law. Below you will see the School Bus Fleet Magazine report on deaths that occurred 2011 – 2012 due to illegal passing of school buses. Laws as they pertain to a violator or the school bus driver are also listed below.

One of our most troubled areas is Hwy. 425. Oncoming traffic is not required to stop on multilane highways that are divided by a parkway or dividing strip of 20 ft. or more. This does not pertain to any area in Drew County. All oncoming traffic should stop as well as traffic following the bus!

You can help us by sharing this information with your children, neighbors or friends. Together we may prevent a tragic circumstance in our community.

Thank you,
Danny Lloyd
Transportation Director
Monticello School District

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
School Bus Fleet Magazine Report

Nine children were killed in school bus loading and unloading accidents in the U.S. in the 2011-12 school year, according to the Kansas State Department of Education’s (KSDE) forthcoming national report.

The number of danger zone deaths was slightly higher than that of the previous school year, 2010-11, which had eight.

In 2011-12, the majority of the loading and unloading fatalities — six of the nine — were caused by a vehicle passing the school bus.

Law

27-51-1004. Passing when stopped prohibited. (a) When a school bus stops and displays its alternating red warning lights for the purpose of loading or unloading passengers, every operator of a motor vehicle or motorcycle meeting or overtaking the school bus from any direction shall bring the motor vehicle or motorcycle to a complete stop before reaching the school bus. (b) The operator of the motor vehicle or motorcycle shall not start up or attempt to pass in any direction until the school bus vehicle has finished receiving or discharging its passengers and is in motion again.

ACT 718: REPORTING OF PASSING A STOPPED SCHOOL BUS

• (1) The school bus driver who observes an operator of a motor vehicle violating § 27-51-1004 or § 27-51-1005 shall report the license plate number, issuing state if different than Arkansas, and a brief description of the vehicle to the superintendent within two (2) hours after the end of the driver’s shift for that period of the day.

• (2) Within forty-eight (48) hours of the observation, the superintendent shall provide the information to the local prosecuting attorney.

• (d) A school bus driver who fails to carry out the provisions of subsection (a) of this section is guilty of a Class C misdemeanor.

• (e) (1) The prosecuting attorney who is provided a report under this section shall provide written notice to the superintendent regarding the outcome of the report.

• (2) The superintendent shall provide information regarding the outcome of the report to the driver of the school bus who initiated the report.

• (f) Nothing in this section shall limit a person who observes an operator of a motor vehicle violating § 27-51-1004 or § 27-51-1005 from reporting the incident to the local prosecuting attorney.

 

This entry was posted on Monday, August 19th, 2013 at 2:15 pm and is filed under Drew Central News, Monticello School News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.