WDRB.com reported that as a new school approaches for hundreds of thousands schoolchildren across Kentucky, motorists will soon start seeing reminders across the state to watch out for stopped school buses.
Starting this week, 45 billboards will be displayed across the state, warning drivers of the danger of passing a stopped school bus. The billboards feature an extended stop sign arm on the side of a school bus with the words, “It’s not JUST a stop sign, it’s a child’s life.”
“It is paramount that our children arrive at school and back home safely each day,” said Kentucky Education Commissioner Stephen Pruitt. “While stopping for a school bus might be a minor inconvenience for drivers, it could be a matter of life or death for a child. I call on all Kentuckians to be especially cautious around school buses, not just at the beginning of the school year, but anytime they approach these big yellow vehicles.”
According to the annual National School Bus Loading and Unloading Survey, 75 percent of the school bus-related fatalities occurred when a student was hit by a passing vehicle duringthe 2014-15 year.
