(On Friday, the Sheriff's Office, Forsyth Police Department, and MCSS released the following Public Service Annoucement.)

A PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT...

Monroe County Sheriff's Office

J.C. Bittick, Sheriff

Forsyth Police Department

Keith Corley, Police Chief

Monroe County School System

Anthony D. Pack, Superintendent

February 8, 2012

In 2011, over 14,000 school buses were on our nation's roads and highways delivering children safely to school, then back home again. The Georgia Department of Education completed an Illegal Pass Survey last year that estimated that motorists illegally passed school buses at a rate of about 4,500 incidents per day. Since 2008, four Georgia students were killed during the loading or unloading process by drivers who failed to yield to the bus while it was stopped. Three other Georgia students received injuries after being struck by a vehicle which failed to yield to the stopped school bus.

School bus safety is a priority in our community, for the children traveling on buses as well as drivers who share the roadways with buses. Recent incidents regarding unsafe driving practices of other motorists during loading and unloading children at bus stops have necessitated an awareness campaign by local law enforcement and the Monroe County school system.

 According to statistics gathered by Georgia Department of Education, Office of Pupil Transportation, Monroe County school buses were involved in 18 documented incidents of School System Stop Arm violations in the 2010-2011 school year. Of those incidents eight occurred during the morning bus route while 10 occurred during the afternoon bus route.

 Whether on a city street, highway or county road, and regardless of the speed limit and the number of lanes, motorists travelling in both directions must stop when approaching a stopped school bus with its upper red lights flashing. A stop arm will swing out while passengers are boarding or leaving the bus. (The only exception: on highways separated by a median, traffic coming from the opposite direction is not required to stop). Once all passengers have boarded, the STOP arm will fold away. Drivers should not start moving until the red lights have stopped flashing and the bus begins to move.

The Monroe County Sheriff's Office, the Monroe County School System and the City of Forsyth strongly urges drivers to be more aware of school bus traffic and to drive carefully when traveling through a school zone. Those drivers who fail to yield to the school bus's stop arm will be ticketed.

For questions or more information please contact:

Sheriff J.C. Bittick at 478-957-5169;

Superintendent Anthony Pack at 478-994-2031; and

Chief Keith Corley at 478-808-1551.

Some of Georgia's laws pertaining to school buses are provided below.

Allison Selman-Willis

PIO/Accreditation Manager

Monroe County Sheriff's Office

c. 478-808-1524

O.C.G.A. 40-6-161 - School bus headlights must be lit when transporting children.

It shall be unlawful to operate any school bus, which is transporting children unless the headlights are illuminated.

O.C.G.A. 40-6-162 - Use of Visual Signals.

A school bus driver shall actuate the visual signals required by Code 40-8-111 and 40-8-115 whenever, but only whenever, the school bus is stopped on the highway for the purpose of receiving or discharging school children.
A school bus driver shall not actuate the visual signals:
(1) At intersections or other places where traffic is controlled by traffic-control signals or police officers; or
(2) In designated school bus loading areas where the bus is entirely off the roadway.

O.C.G.A. 40-6-163 -

40-6-163. (a) Except as provided in subsection (b) of this Code section, the driver of a vehicle meeting or overtaking from either direction any school bus stopped on the highway shall stop before reaching such school bus when there are in operation on the school bus the visual signals as specified in Code Sections 40-8-111 and 40-8-115, and such driver shall not proceed until the school bus resumes motion or the visual signals are no longer actuated.

(b) The driver of a vehicle upon a highway with separate roadways need not stop upon meeting or passing a school bus which is on a different roadway, or upon a controlled-access highway when the school bus is stopped in a loading zone which is a part of or adjacent to such highway and where pedestrians are not permitted to cross the roadway.

(c) Every school bus driver who observes a violation of subsection (a) of this Code section is authorized and directed to record specifically the vehicle description, license number of the offending vehicle, and time and place of occurrence on forms furnished by the Department of Public Safety. Such report shall be submitted within 15 days of the occurrence of the violation to the local law enforcement agency which has law enforcement jurisdiction where the alleged offense occurred.

O.C.G.A. 40-8-115 -

40-8-115. This part shall not prohibit the use of a school bus as defined in paragraph (55) of Code Section 40-1-1 for special school route service, provided it shall meet the following identification and equipment requirements:

(1) The bus need not be painted yellow or black;

(2) The bus shall be equipped with four hooded or recessed red flasher lights, or four red flasher lights and four amber flasher lights mounted on the same horizontal centerline as the red lights and nearer the centerline. Such amber lights shall be at least two and one-half times brighter than the red lights. The system shall be wired so that the amber signal lights are activated only by manual or foot operation and if activated are automatically deactivated and the red signal lights activated when the bus entrance door is opened; and

(3) While transporting children to or from school, the bus shall be equipped with the following temporary signs, located conspicuously on the front and back of such vehicle:

  (A) The sign on the front shall have the words 'SCHOOL BUS' printed in black letters not less than six inches high, on a background of National School Bus Glossy Yellow; and

  (B) The sign on the rear shall be at least ten square feet in size and shall be painted National School Bus Glossy Yellow and have the words 'SCHOOL BUS' printed in black letters not less than eight inches high.