MHP reminds motorists to drive safely around school buses
GOLDEN TRIANGLE, Miss. (WCBI) – With school now back in session, drivers once again find themselves sharing the road with school buses.
According to Gardner Law Firm, more than 500 school bus accidents occur each year in the state of Mississippi.
Following safety precautions and being aware of school buses may help lower that number.
The Lowndes County School District has about 35 buses running routes every school day.
Whether it’s early in the morning or late afternoon drivers need to be alert to those buses loading and unloading students.
Mississippi Highway Patrol Staff Sergeant Derrick Beckom and bus supervisor Lori Cargile said this time of year, drivers often face a learning curve.
“Beginning of the school year a lot of times we tend to see people not slowing down or not stopping when they are approaching the buses because they have been all summer long without seeing them so it’s kind of a shock to them to see the buses back on their normal routes,” Beckom said.
“So the safety issues are still the same you know the buses go a lot slower than a lot of other people travel so being behind them can become frustrating but we just need other drivers to be patient without bus drivers because their job is to get our students from school safely,” Cargile said.
With this being the first full week of school for some districts, it’s good to brush up on highway safety precautions.
“We just need for you to take as even if you don’t have children now at some point of time you possibly did or you have relatives that have children so take your morning commute and your evening commute a little safer. Tend to slow down and think about those children getting on and off the buses because that’s the thing we don’t want to have is some tragedy involving a bus crash,” Beckom said.
“I also would suggest leaving earlier. A lot of times accidents happen when we are on our way to work and on our way to school because we are in a hurry. We are in a hurry and we don’t want to be late and because of that reason we are less aware, we are less careful and with all the buses on the roads loaded with students in the morning and the afternoons, we just have to take that much more time and they much more precaution,” Cargile said.
And remember, it is illegal to pass a stopped school bus on the road.
The Highway Patrol, area police, and sheriff’s departments will be stepping up patrols to ensure bus safety.
