KALISPELL - Big yellow school buses are back on the roads, dropping off and picking up students from school.
The Kalispell School District is reminding drivers to take it slow and be aware of their surroundings when sharing the roadway with school buses.
“Yeah, everybody’s on the same team, right? We all want to see our kids get home safe, we all want to see them get to school safe, we’re all on the same team,” said Kalispell School District bus driver Eric Bratke.
Watch to learn more about how to keep kids safe:
Be ready for the unpredictable. That’s what Kalispell School District bus driver Eric Bratke is asking the public when they see school buses stop for children.
“Kids are not thinking about how traffic works, they haven’t taken driver's ed, they are thinking I got to get to school, I got to get home, and that’s their priority, so it’s just a good idea to be a little extra aware around school buses.”
Bratke said drivers need to slow down to a stop when they see yellow flashing lights. Each school bus has an extended 6-foot stop sign that reaches across the centerline.
“Yeah, unless the highway is divided and has cement in between — even if it’s four lanes — that stop sign means all four lanes of traffic stop and the turn lane as well,” said Bratke.
Kalispell School District Transportation Director Laura Hawkins said roughly 2,500 kids in the district ride the school bus. She noted it’s a $500 fine for drivers who run through a school bus stop sign.
“The yellow lights on the bus, that means slow down and stop, so it doesn’t mean speed up, but rather slow down and stop, that bus is going to stop, and that 30 seconds you’re going to save trying to beat the bus isn’t worth the life of a child," said Hawkins.
Hawkins said drivers need to be extra alert in school zones in the early morning and afternoon hours.
“Those slower signs, those are designed to keep our kids safe, smaller kids they dart out from anywhere, and so we just want to put our phone down, be extra vigilant, slow down to that speed and really just work on keeping our students safe this year.”
Bratke said drivers need to give school buses plenty of room to operate during the dark winter months and not be in a rush.
“School buses are like bowling bowls, they are super heavy, 15 times that of a normal car, they take forever to get going, forever to stop, so when there is ice or hazards or somebody cuts off a bus it takes us a long time to stop, so just give us a little extra room and that helps keep everybody a little safer.”
