LAKE CITY — Some Northern Michigan bus drivers are trying to educate people about the rules of the road when it comes to other drivers stopping for kids being picked up or dropped off.
Transportation coordinator, Connie Kenyon, for Lake City Area Schools said they’ve been getting regular calls from people concerned that bus drivers are not following bus driver guidelines, but she said people are likely misunderstanding what’s allowed in Michigan.
Kenyon said the concerned calls come in regularly at her office.
“I get an average of one for sure every week, sometimes three calls from folks asking about the bus and why it’s not using the red lights and why the stop arm’s not out,” said Kenyon.
She said she thinks the misunderstanding comes from people being accustomed to stopping when they see a school bus stop and not knowing the difference between a red light stop and a hazard stop.
“We do hazard stops on the roads where we don’t want to impede traffic. And those tend to be busier roads. If you think about how much traffic is flowing on 55 at 55 miles an hour and sometimes more, we’re pulling off the road. Traffic can continue to flow and there’s less stopping and going,” said Kenyon.
A hazard stop requires the bus to pull completely off the road and put on their yellow flashers that are seen in the middle of the bus.
Bus driver and bus driving instructor, Kelly Hale said if there’s not enough room on the side of the road, a red-light stop is warranted.
“The bus drivers watch the traffic going by. Are they moving? Are they stopping? What are they doing? We have to know that they’re either stopping or moving on. And once that’s under control, then we motioned our kids to come on the bus,” said Hale.
A red-light stop is when the overhead flashers turn red and the bus driver puts out a stop sign. Drivers in both directions must stop at least twenty feet away.
She said drivers must wait for all the kids to be seated before they can move.
“The safest place for a child on a bus is in their seat, on their bottoms facing forward. That’s the safest place for them. So that’s why we wait for them to be seated,” said Hale.
Hale said that takes time, but they do it out of caution, protecting our most vulnerable.
“It’s a very serious job. We all take our job seriously because we are transporting our most precious cargo in the United States of America, which is children,” said Hale.
Hale said she worries that impatient people coupled with those who are confused will exacerbate the problem bus drivers already face with red light runners, which happens a lot.
“It can be dangerous in itself and there are people in that line that know that hazards mean you don’t have to stop, and they get impatient and that can cause an accident? You know them trying to pass all the other cars that are stopped,” said Hale.
Michigan State Police said school bus involved crashes jumped 6% in Michigan from 988 crashes in 2023 to 1,044 in 2024, with the majority of crashes happening between 6 and 9 am.