Annually, the Indiana Department of Education requests school districts throughout the state to count and report stop arm violations that occur during one targeted school day in April. Last year on April 23rd, 181 school districts’ Transportation Departments recorded the following violations:

For one day Facts: 181 school districts participated, with a total of 6863 school buses. Violations by the numbers: 2,653 incidents; 2,144 front of bus violations; 509 rear of bus violations; 2,549 left side of bus violations; and 104 right side of bus violations.

For the 2018-19 School year Facts: 181 school districts participated, with a total of 6,863 buses. Violations by the numbers: 477,540 incidents; 385,920 front of bus violations; 91,620 rear of bus violations; 458,820 left side of bus violations; and 18,720 right side of bus violations.

Please help keep our GCS children safe. When you see a school bus, be alert! SLOW down when the lights flash yellow. STOP when the lights flash red. STAY put until the lights stop flashing. Slow. Stop. Stay. It protects the students!

If you need a refresher re: whether of not you need to stop when you pass a bus, here are the rules:

Two-Lane: Vehicles traveling in both directions MUST stop.

Multi-lane paved across: Vehicles traveling in both directions MUST stop.

Divided Highway: (Unpaved space with a minimum of 5 feet, or a raised median or physical barrier) Vehicles behind the bus MUST stop. Vehicles traveling in the opposite direction may proceed with caution.

In addition to watching for buses, please remember to watch for our crossing guards by the schools. Our crossing guards are the first line of defense for our students who walk to school, and they need you to Slow. Stop. and Stay. for them too!

If you have any questions about this information, you may call the GCS Transportation Department at 574-533-7176. Thank you for helping to keep our students SAFE!

(A special thank you goes to the Allen County School PR professionals for developing the Slow. Stop. Stay. safety campaign.)