Most, if not all, schools in the Lehigh Valley have opened their doors to students for the start of the 2024-2025 academic year, and you know what that means — school buses are back out on the roads.

Following school bus safety laws is common sense. The protocols are easy to follow.

Pennsylvania Department of Transportation’s driver and vehicle services’ websites provides a list of these laws.

“Motorists must stop at least 10 feet away from school buses that have their red lights flashing and stop arm activated.

“Motorists must stop when they are behind a bus, meeting the bus or approaching an intersection where a bus is stopped.

“Motorists following or traveling alongside a school bus must also stop until the red lights have stopped flashing, the stop arm is withdrawn and all children have reached safety.

“If physical barriers such as grassy medians, guide rails or concrete median barriers separate oncoming traffic from the bus, motorists in the opposing lanes may proceed without stopping.

“Do not proceed until all the children have reached a place of safety.”

In addition to these laws, safety tips for school bus drivers, parents/guardians and students can also be found on PennDOT’S website.

Some schools have incorporated BusPatrol. Northampton Area School District has received a new fleet of buses for this school year and on them is BusPatrol. In 2022, Catasauqua Area and Salisbury Township school districts incorporated BusPatrol as well.

BusPatrol uses technology that captures illegal school bus passing as evidence for law enforcement. This is a civil violation, which gives you a $300 fine.

If you incur a criminal violation, which is when a police officer pulls you over for not following school bus laws, you will receive a $250 fine, a $35 surcharge, five points on your driving record and a 60-day license suspension.

According to PennDOT, “1.5 million children are transported on Pennsylvania roads each day,” and, according to BusPatrol, “Pennsylvania authorities reported more than 250 stop-arm violations in one day during Operation Safe Stop 2021.”

Nothing is worth risking the safety of a child. Nothing is more important than keeping our students unharmed and alive while getting on and off their school bus.

Keep your eyes on the road. Watch your surroundings. Follow the law. Keep yourself and others safe.

Stacey Koch

editorial assistant

Whitehall-Coplay Press

Northampton Press

Catasauqua Press