HOLDEN, Maine — Many students are aware of the school bus rules and regulations because bus drivers enforce them to keep the students safe on their way home from school or to school.
Unfortunately, many drivers in the are not aware of the rules. The main one is to stop when the blinking yellow lights go off. Jake Morgan has been a bus driver for 32 years for Regional School Unit 63. Morgan says it is hard to keep some of the smaller students safe when many drivers don't stop when the sign goes out on the sides of the buses.
"When those red lights come on you should be stopped, I see more vehicles going through the red lights than we did 20 years ago, so people are getting faster or more distractions," said Morgan.
Several police departments in Maine are partnering with drivers to make sure children stay safe before and after school.
Sargent Wade Betters, from Bangor Police department, says they have partnered with many school bus drivers that are writing up license plate number, description of the person and record a description of the vehicle, the information is forwarded to the police department and then a violation will be sent to your mail. Fines can be up to $326.
Sargent Betters reminds vehicle owners that bus drivers have a schedule, and people have to remember that bus drivers have to get students to school at a certain time and even if the road is wide, you have to completely stop.
"Having one less thing to worry about as far as vehicles running the red lights would be great for the bus drivers," said Sargent Betters.
In the greater Bangor area, the school transportation system has a thumbs up practice between drivers and students of all ages. The student can cross the street when the driver gives them a thumbs up and the student has to cross the street by giving them a thumbs-up back to ensure they are communicating and that the students are safe to cross.
"We've taught all of our kids to look up at the drivers, we give them thumbs up," said Morgan.
This is one of the practices that parents should help drivers reinforce since many parents tell their children to cross before the driver gives them the thumbs up.
There are some safety rules parents should be aware of to remind their kids about the importance of following them on every single ride:
- No electronic devices are permitted, it is distracting to the driver
- Have children put everything inside their backpacks
- Stop and look both ways before crossing a street
- No food or drinks while the bus is in motion
- Sit on your assigned seat and don't walk up and down the aisles
- Their backpacks should be on their laps or on the rails on top of the bus seats
- No headphones
It is a job drivers Morgan and Reed enjoy and have been doing for decades because they both know these kids are the future.
"The kids have made it because I never dreamed that I was going to be a bus driver and I've been out here 32 years because of the kids," said Morgan.