The Shadow
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 10/09/2024
CONTACT: Sheriff Kyle M. Moore
Covington, VA — National School Bus Safety Week is October 20-24, 2025. The Alleghany County Sheriff’s Office and the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration are urging drivers to slow down and be aware of school buses in their community. Although school buses are one of the safest modes of transportation, injuries and fatalities do occur outside of or near the buses. Most often, these tragedies occur because a motorist has failed to slow down and obey the bus’s stop sign or to follow local traffic laws. Nationally, school bus passing is illegal, and it is a deadly risk to bus riders and their caregivers.
Drivers should always come to a complete stop when a school bus stop-arm is extended and the red lights are flashing.
From 2014 to 2023, there were 1.5 times more fatalities among pedestrians (171) than occupants of school buses (113) in school-bus-related traffic crashes. A total of 209 school-age children (18 and younger) died in school-bus-related crashes during that period, either as occupants of school buses or other vehicles, or on foot or bike. Of those deaths, 79 were pedestrians.
From 2000 to 2023, 61 fatalities in crashes involved a driver illegally passing a stopped school bus, an average of 2.5 fatalities a year. Almost half of those fatalities (26) were pedestrians who were 18 years old or younger.
“When you see a school bus with its red lights flashing and the stop-arm out, that’s your cue to hit the brakes and come to a full stop,” said Sheriff Moore. “It’s not just courteous, it’s the law!”
In fact, yellow flashing lights indicate the bus is preparing to stop to load or unload children. This is when motorists should begin to slow down and prepare to come to a stop. “Drivers can get rolling again only after the bus’s red lights stop flashing, the stop-arm folds back in, and the bus starts moving. Kids and their caregivers are counting on everyone to play it safe and follow the rules!” said Sheriff Moore.
Respect the “Danger Zone”
The school bus loading and unloading area is called the “Danger Zone.” Specifically, this is any side of the bus where the bus driver can’t see the child and, therefore, the child is in the most danger. These areas include:
• 10 feet in front of the bus, where the driver may be sitting too high to see a child
• 10 feet on either side of the bus, where a child may be in the driver’s blind spots
• Behind the school bus
For more information about school bus stop safety, please visit www.nhtsa.gov/road-safety/school-bus-safety#the-topic-bus-stop-safety or our office at (540) 965-1770.
