With school starting last week and this week, buses and school zones will be affecting traffic. As a courier and logistics company that values safety and efficiency, we at On Time Logistics offer these tips to make the morning commute as easy and safe as possible.
Plan ahead
Driving through school zones means driving through an area with buses and children crossing crosswalks as well as riding their bikes to school. All three make for a large amount of traffic in areas along bus routes and in school zones.
Beginning your drive at an earlier time will help beat the rush hour and avoid buses as they transport children. It also helps to consider more than one route if there are several bus stops on your regular commute.
Put down the phone
No matter the reason, never text and drive. Especially in school zones, Arkansas law prohibits phones use for any purpose including text, the internet or phone calls. Always remember to refresh yourself on Arkansas laws and drive phone free instead of getting a $250 ticket for texting and driving.
We’ve already shared tips for bus safety when driving regular vehicles and recommend reading through them to educate yourself. Two important rules we want to point out are: Passing a stopped school bus is also considered illegal and drivers should always stay several feet back from the bus.
Prioritize School Zone Safety: Drive MindfullySafety first
We’ve mentioned these safety ideas in a previous year’s blog, but they bear repeating every year.
Parents should educate their children on road safety and we encourage these simple rules to be taught to children before they go to school.
- Always look both ways before crossing the street
- Make sure the child knows the road is off limits and the sidewalk is safe
- Only cross the street when a cross guard is present
- Never run across the street, children are hard to see when in a car
- Getting to, on, or leaving the bus is a priority so no horseplay.
Flashing red. Kids ahead.
School safety is important to many people across the state.
Last week, state officials kicked off a campaign that draws attention to motorists when sharing the roads with buses transporting children. The “Flashing Red Kids Ahead” school bus safety campaign is an annual three-week campaign that started on August 7 and ends August 25.
As of this year, more than 7,000 school buses will be making the commute to transport children to and from school. Passing these buses while stopped will result in an increased fine in accordance with Isaac’s law.
According to a recent press release by the Arkansas Department of Education, “school bus drivers in 100 Arkansas school districts reported 706 instances of motorists illegally passing a school bus” on April 26, 2016, alone. That’s an alarming number!
Though kids dread going to school in the morning, you do not have to dread the morning commute. Follow the laws and take the time to plan out your morning so you, school bus drivers, and the kids going to school can enjoy the school year.