(WXYZ) — Back-to-school is right around the corner and kids across metro Detroit will be boarding the bus. We're working to keep drivers and children safe by making sure you know what to do when you see that big yellow bus.
Disobeying traffic rules can have dangerous, and sometimes deadly consequences.
In 2019 alone, there were around 1,200 school bus crashes in Michigan. A total of six people lost their lives.
Nationally, 94 people died in school bus-related accidents that same year.
"In our minds, we are always looking, we are checking mirrors, you know we put our lights on with ample amount of time for people to see and make the proper stop to wait for our student to exit the bus," Krystal Maxwell, a bus driver for Utica schools, said.
Here is your refresher, just in case you forgot.
- When you see yellow blinking lights, that means the bus is about to stop.
- When the red sign comes out, you need to be on the brakes and stopping.
- On a two-lane road, drivers on both sides of the road need to stop
- Same rules apply if you are on a multi-lane road
- The only time you can proceed is if there is a median in the middle of the road and you are on the other side
- The side with the school bus always needs to stop
If you do break the law, police in your neighborhood might be watching.
"The Detroit Police Department and all the precincts we will be operating operation safe passage, that is units are going to be assigned out of service to monitor the ingress and egress of schools in the area as well as the traffic enforcement around the area," DPD 3rd Precinct Captain Tharadrous White said.
If you are caught, be prepared to cough up hundreds of dollar to pay the fine.
IF YOU ARE CAUGHT- BE PREPARED TO CAUGH UP HUNDREDS OF DOLLARS TO PAY OFF THE FINES.
Captain Tharadrous White, DPD 3rd precinct 09:56:22
"The fine is $290 for running a school bus stop sign, to quantify that, the fine is $120 to run a standard stop sign, so that just shows how important it is or how seriously we take that school bus safety in and around the school area," White added.
The City of Detroit is in the process of installing 4,500 speed humps this year. One determining factor is if there is a speeding problem near the school.
