Bus safety week highlights drivers

L-N File Photo Drivers Beware It's School Bus Safety Week, a good time for drivers to remember laws about stopping when buses are loading and unloading.

For Texas students, the most dangerous part of their journey to and from school is crossing the street to board a school bus or after exiting one.

During the 2006-2007 school year, no students were killed during this critical part of their journey to and from school, but passing motorists pose the greatest danger to these students.

Texas state law requires drivers to stop for school buses that are stopped and have activated their alternating red flashing lights. Drivers should not proceed until the school bus resumes motion; the driver is signaled by the bus driver to proceed, or the visual signal is no longer activated.

"Motorists who do not stop are endangering our most precious resource - our children," said DPS Director Col. Thomas A. Davis Jr. "These reckless drivers will face fines of up to $1,000… if they are convicted."

School Bus Safety Week runs from October 21-27 across the nation. This year's safety week theme - "Stop on Red, Kids Ahead" - reminds drivers to obey the law regarding stopping for a school bus.

If a road is divided only by a left-turning lane, drivers on both sides must stop, but if lanes are separated by a median or other barrier, only motorists going in the same direction as the bus are required to stop.