MOUNT VERNON – Here’s something to be aware of during National School Bus Safety Week, whose Oct. 17-21 theme is “Safely Rolling to My Destination.”
A driver cited for passing a school bus while its red lights are flashing anywhere in Knox County will have a mandatory appearance date in Mount Vernon Municipal Court.
The minimum fine will be $100. The law director might recommend more, pending a review of the case. The Ohio Revised Code permits the suspension of a driver’s license if warranted.
Distracted driving is blamed for an increasing number of “red-light runners” throughout the county.
“Distracted driving is the No. 1 danger I see.” said Ohio Highway Patrol Trooper Anthony Matheny. “Drivers who pass a school bus with its red lights flashing are either distracted, in a hurry or just don’t care.”
It happens a lot more often than you might think.
“Every day we have five or six red-light runners,” said Todd Conant, transportation director for Mount Vernon City Schools. “Every day.”
His 23 full-time bus drivers travel approximately 1,850 miles each school day, not counting field trips or travel to athletic events.
“Each bus is equipped with outside cameras,” Conant said. “If a vehicle drives past the bus’s red lights, the camera automatically takes a picture of the vehicle, including the license plate. That information is sent to law enforcement.”
Dave Doup, who has been behind the wheel for 25 years, is Mount Vernon’s longest-tenured bus driver. He covers 84 miles each day, a high school-middle school route, then an elementary route.
“The biggest danger is drivers texting, not paying attention. Some just don’t care,” Doup said. “Things are much better now than when I started because of the cameras.”
The Danville Local Schools transportation department is much smaller than Mount Vernon; seven daily bus routes average 336 miles a day.
But Transportation Director Phil Blubaugh and 22-year driver Barb Banbury share the same concerns as their counterparts in Mount Vernon.
“My number one concern is people’s lack of attention,” Banbury said. “Many are talking on the phone or texting. It’s like their minds are somewhere else.”
They’re often hurrying to go nowhere,” Blubaugh said. “We have red-light runners several times a week.”
“When the yellow flashing lights come on, drivers shouldn’t pass,” Banbury said. “My first stop is for seven small children who have to walk in front of the bus. Sometimes I will stop the bus more toward the center of the road to prevent someone from running through.”
Danville has no exterior bus cameras – Blubaugh hopes to install them as soon as funds permit – but drivers’ radios are monitored by the Danville Police Department. A bus driver’s description of a red-light runner can be heard by village officers or relayed to other law enforcement outside the village.
“Our whole police department is great. We’re fortunate to have them,” Banbury said.
Trooper Matheny inspects school buses fulltime as part of the Patrol’s Licensing and Commercial Standards Division, District 6.
“Every school bus in Ohio is inspected twice a year,” he said. “The annual inspection is top to bottom: brakes, steering, interior, everything, which earns the blue OHP inspection sticker on each bus. There also are random inspections during the school year.”
Doup, Banbury and every other school bus driver in the county conduct their own bus inspections before starting morning routes, checking lights, tires and other components bumper to bumper.
Matheny agreed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s assertion that children are about 70 times more likely to get to school safely when taking a school bus instead of traveling by car.
“The design of buses makes them the safest mode of transportation for kids,” he said. “Buses are designed to absorb impact if there is a crash. The body slides on the frame.”
Across Ohio more than 15,000 school buses transport 80,000 children between home and school, according to the Ohio School Boards Association. Safety measures while waiting for a school bus and boarding it are outlined in the handbooks students receive at the start of the school year. Transportation departments provide additional training for students.
“Bus drivers are trained to watch traffic and signal to students (to board) when traffic stops,” the OSBA said. “But when motorists deliberately drive around a stopped school bus, it can be difficult for drivers and students to react in time to stay safe.”
Neither Doup nor Banbury have any immediate retirement plans.
“I love what I’m doing,” Doup said. “I have great kids on my route, a little noisy at times, but great kids. Every Friday I have Ohio State Buckeye Day. A lot of the kids wear Buckeye shirts.”
The closest Doup has come to quitting came on Dec. 21, 2015, when he was driving the freshman basketball team on Ohio 16 near Newark.
“There was fog and freezing rain. I’m driving 40 mph. The guy behind me was going 80 mph and went under the bus,” Doup recalled. “The kids were OK, but I thought the driver of the car had been killed because the top of the car had been sheared off. It turned out that he had fallen asleep and was lying on the seat. He wasn’t seriously injured.”
Conant praised the skill and commitment of Doup and other Mount Vernon drivers, just as Blubaugh commended Banbury and his other drivers.
“Barb has taught me things about driving a bus,” said Blubaugh, who drove for two years before becoming the supervisor eight years ago. “We are blessed to have a really good group of people driving for our kids.”
The Knox Educational Service Center develops, implements, and operates cooperative, shared educational services for the Centerburg, Clear Fork Valley, Danville, East Knox, Fredericktown, and Mount Vernon City school districts, as well as the Knox County Career Center.
