Report: Drivers increasingly failing to stop for school buses, putting children at risk

GREENE COUNTY — The quick thinking of a local school bus driver is what some are saying helped saved the life of a student just trying to get home from school.

On Friday afternoon longtime school bus driver Karen Amos was dropping off her last student of the day when three cars flew past the doors of her bus going around 50 miles per hour.

“We trained so much to check your mirrors before you open your door and being on 68 as many years as I have, it’s just a pretty good habit that I’ve gotten into keep checking them,” Amos said.

Elmer Beard has been the transportation director with Greenon Local Schools for almost 10 years.

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He said if a bus is flashing yellow lights it’s preparing to stop and so should you.

When it is flashing red, it has stopped and students are getting off the bus.

Beard said it isn’t unusual for drivers to not stop for kids getting off.

“I probably have one or two drivers a week report vehicles actually going through the red warning lights which means the service door is open,” Beard said.

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He said buses have cameras that will catch the license plates of cars that don’t stop when the bus is letting them off.

“We have a form that we fill out and we forward to law enforcement with as much information as we have,” he said.

News Center 7 reached out to Ohio State Highway Patrol to see how this year’s violations compare to last year.

OSHP said they have increased by 14 percent compared to last year.

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