School bus drivers urge safety, knowing the rules when on the road

More than 700 school buses were back on the roads starting Friday for dry runs to test their new routes.

While the bus drivers do their part, they want you to prepare too.

Drivers are passing stopped school buses hundreds of times every day and it’s putting kids at risk.

School bus driver Sharon Walker checked the mirrors, windows, lights, lanes of traffic and soon will welcome lots of new faces as they board her bus.

“You never know what different personalities that you come across,” Walker said. “You have to basically just go with the flow and hope and pray that you have a route where everything goes smooth.”

To prepare, she and hundreds of other drivers hit the road to test out the safety of their routes.

Walker is a 14 year veteran of the first day of school and says she has about 65 kids, sometimes 72, and “to get them home safely we have to look out for the other cars we have to look out for ourselves.”

Unfortunately, drivers can’t stop cars from blowing past their stop signs.

The School District of Lee County says no more to kids dodging cars flying by and drivers getting away with it.

Roger Lloyd, director of transportation operations for the School District of Lee County, says they notify law-enforcement when it happens and they will come out the next day to ticket people.

Lloyd says, “Were going to have quite a few buses on the road, 728 in the morning, 728 in the afternoon. Show caution when you’re driving!”

Drivers also try to make sure bus stops are safe. But even then, kids don’t always stand where they’re supposed to, so walker asks every driver to be on the lookout.

And know the rules of the road when it comes to buses.