As the 2024-25 school year begins on Tuesday, August 13, the Kerrville Municipal Court would like to once again remind area motorists about school bus safety and ways to protect our children.
For the estimated 1.4 million Texas children who ride the bus to and from school, the boarding and alighting times are the most dangerous times of the day. Statistics show that student deaths and injuries occur frequently in the boarding and alighting zones.
Drivers who pass a school bus that has stopped to pick up or drop off students put children in danger.
Texas law requires drivers to stop school buses with flashing red lights and stop arms extended when children are getting on or off. Drivers must remain stopped until the school bus resumes operation, the bus driver signals them to move, or the flashing red lights are no longer activated.
This applies to both directions of traffic, regardless of the number of lanes.
The only exception to this rule is when the roadway is divided by a concrete barrier or other type of median.
Very few, if any, of the streets used as school bus stops in Kerrville fall under these exceptions, so most, if not all, drivers on Kerrville streets are required to stop for school buses.
Drivers must be particularly careful in residential areas, near schools and at bus stops because children do not behave like adults in traffic.
• Easily distracted and may cross the road without warning.
• Do not understand the danger of moving vehicles.
• Unable to judge the speed or distance of the vehicle.
• The view may be obscured by the bus.
For millions of students across the country, the school day begins and ends with a ride on the school bus. The biggest safety risk for them is not the ride on the bus, but getting on and off the bus. Knowing these few traffic rules can help keep our children safe.
• When backing out of a driveway or leaving a garage, watch for children walking or cycling to school.
• When driving in school zone areas, be aware of young people who may be thinking about getting to school but not about getting there safely.
• Slow down. Watch for children running in the street, especially in residential areas with no sidewalks, or playing and gathering near bus stops.
• Be alert. Children who are late for the bus may run into the street without paying attention to traffic.
• Learn about school bus rules and follow them.
Drivers are urged to familiarize themselves with the “flashing light system” that school bus drivers use to alert other motorists of upcoming actions:
• Flashing yellow lights indicate that the bus is stopping to let children on or off. Drivers should slow down and prepare to stop their vehicles.
• Flashing red lights and extended stop signs indicate that the bus has stopped and children are boarding or alighting. Drivers must stop and wait until the red lights stop flashing, the extended stop sign is removed, and the bus starts moving before they can proceed.
The safety of children is the primary goal. To ensure this goal, the legislature has enacted legal penalties for those who do not obey the law.
The first offense in municipal court, which involves passing a stopped school bus, is punishable by a fine of $1,000, which cannot be remitted by taking a driver safety course.
Of course, violations of this law that result in serious bodily harm are punished more severely. However, these penalties pale in comparison to the potential injuries suffered by our youngest and most vulnerable citizens.