Police urge caution for drivers as back-to-school means buses on the road
POCATELLO, Idaho (KIFI) — Back-to-school means buses running their routes each morning and midday across the area. Police are prepping their patrol for extra caution to protect school children as they walk or ride the buses on weekdays, and urge caution amongst drivers in the new school year.
Lt. Lacey with the Pocatello Police Department said the new school year means more activity on the roads in the morning, whether it's buses or parents driving kids to school. The Pocatello-Chubbuck School District 25 is also growing steadily.
"They have so many routes," Lt. Lacey said. "Our schools are growing; we just have a lot of kids."
Drivers must yield to school buses when their lights are flashing and especially when the stop arm is out. Lt. Lacey says the most important thing to understand is that younger children are unpredictable and may run across the street without looking.
"Both directions need to stop. The kids will jump out and go the opposite way of what you expect," he said. "Drivers need to be very cautious about the kids that are around both sides getting picked up and dropped off at bus stops. We just don't want our kids to get hurt."
The only exception to stopping for a school bus is if there are four lanes of traffic and a clear median in between each duo of lanes, as demonstrated by this graphic posted by the City of Chubbuck.
Once the doors are closed, the lights are off, and the stop arm is pulled back to the side, drivers may proceed.
The school zones in Pocatello and Chubbuck are also clearly labeled with times for reducing speeds to 25mph. School District 25 includes 23 schools, with over 75 buses running daily routes. Many students also walk to their school each day, meaning when school starts on August 26, crosswalks will be busier.
"You'll see a lot of areas with crossing guards; yield to their sign. They are a human traffic signal," Lt. Lacey said. "Until they're fully out of the crosswalk and their stop sign is down, proceed and yield to them like you would any other stop sign."
Lt. Lacey said Pocatello Police will have more patrol officers out on duty during back-to-school to ensure the safety of students. They will also coordinate with fellow agencies like the Idaho State Police to increase presence.
"We encourage our citizens to let us know if there are areas that are problems, especially for your kids that are walking to school, if they come home and say it's hard for them to cross the street," he said.
