Classes resume today, and with that brings more foot traffic and school buses operating, so when you’re driving be cognizant of added traffic in the mornings and afternoons. 

Washington Community School District Transportation Director Woody Harden says when you’re driving and you see a bus with its flashing yellow lights on then you need to slow down and prepare to stop. If red lights are activated and the bus’s stop sign is extended then you need to stop. The district will report violations to the Washington Police Department, “We want our kids to be safe. We want our motorists to be safe. We want everyone to be safe. Last thing we want to do is write up a motorist to turn that in, and our buses do have cameras, and we can see your license plate and we do work with local law enforcement to have those violations reported. But we don’t want to do that. We would rather have a year with no violations and nobody going through our stoplights.”   

When students need to cross the street after exiting their bus, they should look to the driver for a signal and always cross in front of the bus.

Harden adds that now is a good time for parents to talk to their children about proper behavior on school buses and at bus stops, including no horseplay near the road.