Police departments around the state launched “Operation Safe Stop” Monday. As a result, there will be more patrols around schools to look for drivers illegally passing school buses.
Police advise drivers to prepare to stop when they see the overhead flashing yellow lights of a school bus, and to stop at least 20 feet away from a bus when the overhead lights flash red.
Nick Soley with the Bloomfield Township Police Department says it’s everyone’s job to watch out for kids, especially this time of year.
“As we see that time change coming, we’re going to see it getting darker earlier,” Soley said. “Again, the majority of these school bus involved crashes occur between three o’clock and six o’clock. So I think it’s a little bit of the sun starting to go down, sun gets in people’s eyes, as well as the fact that people have worked all day and people are trying to get home. We just ask that they do that safely and they do that responsibly.”
There were 988 crashes involving school buses last year. Five people were killed, including one student.
