Young lives at stake: Don’t pass buses stopped on the road
Cook County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. James Finney and Cook County Schools Transportation Director Lana Siska urge motorists to stop their vehicles when they approach school buses with their stop signs extended and lights flashing on the streets and roads. Young lives are at stake.
School will start back for Cook County students on Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024. All motorists should stop their vehicles when they encounter buses stopped on the roadways to pick up or release children, and “Addy’s Law,” which went into effect July 1 in Georgia, will provide stiffer penalties for violators.
Rock Spring Elementary School student Adalynn Pierce, 8, was hit by a car while getting on a school bus. She died.
Passing a school bus with the stop sign out is now a high and aggravated misdemeanor. It carries a minimum fine of $1,000 and up to 12 months in jail. If the driver does it a second time, law enforcement can notify the driver’s insurance company, so the insurance premiums will go up. A violation of the law will impose six points against your driver’s license. Also, a violation could lead to automatic suspension of a driver’s license for a person under age 21.
Cook County Schools Transportation Director Lana Siska has noted several near-misses of students in recent years when motorists try to go around the stopped buses. In some incidents, kids’ older siblings had to pull them out of harm’s way.
All the buses now have cameras which can record detailed side, front, and rear views of other vehicles that are supposed to be sharing the roadways. The cameras show license plates and even the faces of motorists, so there is no need to try and deny a violation.
Illegal passing of school buses cases are referred to the School Resource Officers if the incidents occur on campus. Off campus, the illegal passing cases are referred to Sgt. James Finney with the Sheriff’s Office, who will write tickets. Last school year, Sgt. Finney issued 22 citations for illegal passing of school buses. He also gave 10 warnings. Some of the violators even go by on the right side of the bus, where kids are disembarking from inside.
(Sgt. Finney also works as a bus driver for long school-related trips such as on away football games, and substitute-drives when needed, so he directly deals with the illegal passing issue.)
The cases are referred to Cook County Probate Court. Some of the violations are committed by juveniles, who are given the option of a pre-trial diversion program in which they must write a 2,000-word essay on bus safety and the importance of paying attention while driving.
The cameras turn on immediately when the school bus starts, and they do not go off until 10 minutes after the driver shuts off the bus. The cameras run continually while the buses are in operation. If a driver encounters an offense involving a passing motorist, he or she can push a button to mark the relevant part of the camera recording. A hard drive in the buses also records the cameras’ video images.
Mrs. Siska said the Angel Trax cameras are doing well, and the company does an excellent job in helping with any issues that may arise.
Sgt. Finney and Mrs. Siska noted two big problem areas for illegal passing of stopped school buses: The intersection at Highway 37 and Bear Creek Road (at Stone Ridge Apartments), and on Highway 37, west of Adel, on the way to Reed Bingham State Park.
Mrs. Siska asked what is so important for a motorist to be in such a rush, that the violator may change so many people’s lives forever with an accident resulting in injuries or the death of a young child.
The Cook County Schools school bus fleet has 37 buses. Three new buses – one for SPED students and two standard buses – will be rolling for the 2024-2025 school year. There are two more to replace in the fleet, at which point the oldest bus will date back to 2017. All the buses have air conditioning and cameras, which also record the student passengers with high-quality video and audio.
Mrs. Siska thanked the school board and the public for funding the school system’s seven-year plan to modernize Cook County’s school buses.
A federal grant funded two electric school buses and a charging center. The electric buses are charged each morning and after each day of activity, and are used for in-town routes. Their maximum range on a charge is 100 miles.