According to the Tennessee Department of Safety, between 500,000 and 600,000 children in the state ride a school bus every day.
In the spirit of National School Bus Safety Week, state troopers from the Tennessee Highway Patrol visited Pigeon Forge Middle School to encourage bus drivers, teachers and other motorists to make sure those children are safe. They also provided safety tips.Troopers participated in a ride-along program, where they either rode on selected school buses or followed them to ensure safety and to observe behavior of students and motorists.The theme for this year's National School Bus Safety Week: "Be Aware - Cross With Care.""The theme is actually to remind students to cross with care and look both ways before crossing," said state trooper Debbie Pafford. She said troopers have written more than a thousand citations since Aug. 1 as part of the department's Safe School and Enforcement Campaign. Around 319 of those drivers were cited for speeding in school zone.
Last year, troopers issued 6,500 citations in school zones. "Our school bus drivers are doing a great job, but they need help," Pafford said. "Our goal is to make sure that children get to and from school safely, and that's how troopers enforce traffic laws. We also train school bus drivers and inspect buses - more than 11,000 school bus drivers were trained last year by the Department of Safety, and 9,988 school buses were inspected."
Pafford said THP plans to increase its presence in school bus zones."We're looking for drivers who ignore the red flashing lights and pass the school buses who stop to load and unload," she said. "The Tennessee Department of Safety is responsible for ensuring the safety and general welfare of the traveling public." Sheriff Ron Seals said his department would focus on road safety while school buses were in operation."We want to make National School Bus Safety Week a success now and throughout the rest of the school year," Seals said. "We want to make school bus drivers and other drivers aware and observant on what's going on with school buses."
Sam Cameron of the State Department of Education said it works with the Department of Safety to make safety the No. 1 issue in transportation. "Twenty-five million students are transported daily nationwide, where school buses are the safest mode of transportation for students, more than any other means of transportation," Cameron said. "Five hundred thousand students in Tennessee are transported daily. That's 500,000 precious reasons why we need to be safe."State trooper Glen Cantwell stressed motorists' responsibility when encountering buses."A school bus is one of safest vehicles out there on the road," he said. "A lot of these accidents occur where there's carelessness and also when we're not paying attention. For motorists, any time you see those yellow lights flashing on a bus, that indicates it's preparing to stop and load or unload children. Make sure you prepare to stop as soon as you see those yellow flashing lights. Don't prepare to pass that bus until they remove the lights or the driver motions you on through."
Before the troopers went to the buses, Director of Schools Jack Parton issued a challenge to the students."You're the reason we're here and we need your help," he said. "We need you to be sure you're doing the things you should be doing on the school bus, making sure that you're seated and adhering to the bus rules. Can you do that? Can I hear a yes?" The students shouted in agreement.
