Legislators, bus drivers, police suggest ways to prevent accidents

<p>In the sleet that dominated an afternoon in December, a Greenwood school bus driver navigated side streets and cul-de-sacs in neighborhoods, ensuring the 32 Southwest Elementary students on his bus got home safely.</p><p>At each stop, a flashing stop sign extended out from the driver’s side of the bus, the doors opened and children went home to their parents. But Caleb Hartford said the drive isn’t so simple on his middle and high school routes. The middle school route, especially, crosses and makes stops on major thoroughfares, including Fry Road and U.S. 31.</p><p>On average, he said, one car per day ignores the flashing stop arm and continues driving past the bus, endangering the lives of children who are getting on and off. This is especially common on U.S. 31, where he picks up two middle school students. Districts takes steps to make sure the children don’t have to cross oncoming traffic on major roads, and drivers make sure stops are doorside on U.S. 31 and Fry Road, for example.</p>[sc:text-divider text-divider-title="Story continues below gallery" ]Click here to purchase photos from this gallery<p>Driving past a stop arm in any situation is illegal.</p><p>Nearly 20,000 children are taken to school by bus across the county each day, and more than 250 buses are on the roads each morning or afternoon, from Edinburgh to the Center Grove area.</p><p>In April, the Indiana Department of Education conducted its annual violation survey, which tracks how many drivers violate school bus stop arm laws. Of the 7,740 buses that participated that day, there were 3,104 violations, meaning nearly one out of every two buses saw a driver ignore the stop arm. In Johnson County, 245 drivers participated, noting 71 violations.</p><p>Earlier this fall, three children were killed in Rochester, Indiana when a driver didn’t stop for a stop arm.</p><p>According to Hartford, following the Rochester accident, drivers took more caution on the road, but now, the number of violations he notices are back up to previous levels.</p><p>State legislators are drafting bills for the 2019 session that would increase penalties for drivers, prohibit any use of cell phones while driving, extend stop arms to make them more noticeable and capture the license plate of drivers who violate the law.</p><p>Indiana State Sen. Eric Bassler, R-Washington, is in the process of drafting legislation for harsher penalties on stop arm violations, which he plans to submit the week of Jan. 7.</p><p>He said the Rochester tragedy was not what inspired him to draft a bill, as he has previously submitted two bills on stop arm violations that fell short. But the crash may prompt lawmakers to approve the legislation this time around. He also said he hopes his new bill will gain more traction due to its more well-defined guidelines. Those guidelines would cause stop arm misdemeanors to be bumped up a class, and would allow drivers to be taken to court if a bus driver or bus monitor files a sworn affidavit against the driver.</p><p>He is considering adding language about an extended stop arm, which would reach into the adjacent lane of traffic. Other legislators are drafting bills that would call for cameras on school bus stop arms to capture license plate numbers. Among those working on legislation are Indiana Rep. Jim Pressel, R-Rolling Prarie, and Indian Sen. Randy Head, R-Logansport.</p><p>Pressel said the bill he is drafting includes a mandate for school bus drivers to only pick up passenger side on state highways. His bill also allows districts to contract with a third party provider to attach cameras to stop arms. Additionally, Pressel’s bill aims to cut down on distracted driving. If passed, the bill would make it illegal for drivers to touch their cell phones while driving.</p><p>Pressel plans to submit his bill shortly after Christmas, after receiving feedback from various stakeholders and agencies.</p><p>Greenwood Deputy Police Chief James Ison said passing an extended stop arm is a Class A infraction punishable by a fine of $140, but said because officers have to be at the right place at the right time, citations are rarely given. Four drivers were ticketed in Greenwood this year, and four last year, Ison said.</p><p>Ison said if drivers notice a vehicle violating the stop arm law, they should report it to the police department, which can have an officer trail the bus the next day or wait at a spot along the route to try and catch any offenders. He also suggested informing police of any details they have regarding a vehicle that crosses a stop arm illegally. Ideally, those details would include a license plate number, but if the vehicle is too far ahead for a bus driver to read the plate, then information about the color, model and brand can also help.</p><p>Franklin Police Lt. Kerry Atwood said stop-arm violations are not a significant issue in Franklin.</p><p>“I don’t think it’s a big issue at all, based on the number of reports we receive,” Atwood said. For example, from Nov. 1 until mid-December, Franklin police had one report of driver not stopping for a school bus.</p><p>Atwood said that writing down the license plate number is the first priority when it comes to catching a perpetrator. Without that, he said it is extremely difficult for police to enforce stop arm laws.</p><p>Johnson County Sheriff Doug Cox said he can’t remember the last citation for a stop arm violation, although he notes his jurisdiction only covers rural areas that have two schools: Clark and Union elementary schools. Cox said people are aware of the laws but often chose to ignore them.</p><p>“I don’t believe for a minute people don’t know the law,” Cox said. “People are in way too big of a hurry. It’s more than ignorance of the law. There’s nothing more important than our children.”</p><p>At the Edinburgh school district, which transports 233 students per day on three routes, there are four cameras on each bus, which all help monitor the inside of the bus. There has not been discussion yet on adding exterior cameras.</p><p>At the Clark-Pleasant district, which has about 70 routes and transports 87 percent of its 6,633 students, the buses also record footage of the inside of the bus to monitor student behavior. The common denominator of both districts is the cameras do not capture exterior footage, and thus cannot identify license plates of vehicles that pass stop arms.</p><p>“I would say this is the biggest problem that’s out there in terms of safety,” Clark-Pleasant Director of Transportation Bob Downin said of vehicles passing stop arms.</p><p>Clark-Pleasant bus driver Jane Sonntag has been driving for the district for more than a decade, and said she has noticed an increase in the frequency of stop arm violations.</p><p>“It seems like a lot of drivers on the roads these days are distracted and not seeing the flashing lights of the school bus,” Sonntag said. “There are a lot of areas we know cars frequently run stop signs due to heavy traffic and maybe having more enforcement from police cars in the area might help.”</p><p>Those roads include Greenwood’s Worthsville Road and Main Street, as well as U.S. 31.</p><p>Earlier this month, the Prince Edward Island province in Canada began enforcement of a strict law that calls for drivers who are caught violating a stop arm to lose their licenses for three months and pay a $5,000 fine.</p>[sc:pullout-title pullout-title="At issue" ][sc:pullout-text-begin]<p>What the law says:</p><p>When a school bus stop arm is extended, all lanes of traffic traveling in the same direction of the bus must stop if there is a median strip. If there is no median strip, all lanes of traffic heading the opposite direction must stop as well.</p><p>Consequences for violating the law:</p><p>Class A traffic infraction, punishable by a fine of $140.</p>[sc:pullout-text-end]