Transportation Department

Transportation Supervisor - Sheryl Sharp

ph: 931-796-3264

Bus Transportation

• When school is in session, motorists are asked to please watch for children walking to or from school.
• Motorists have a responsibility to know the meaning of the flashing light system on buses. The yellow and red lights are designed to help ensure the safety of both motorists and children:
• Yellow flashing lights indicate the bus is preparing to stop. Motorists should slow down and prepare to stop.
• Red flashing lights and the extended stop arm on the school bus indicate the bus has stopped for children to get on or off the bus.
• Motorists approaching from either direction (on a two-lane road) are required to stop at least 10 feet from a stopped school bus until the bus resumes motion.
• If a school bus is stopped on a road divided into four or more lanes, only traffic driving in the same direction as the bus must stop.

Thank you for helping us keep our community's children safe.

Bus Safety Rules

Children receive training in bus safety at school, but that cannot replace the necessity for parents to teach their children about bus safety before they ever step onto a bus for the first time. It is important for children to learn how to stay safe both in and outside the school bus. Statistics show students are actually at greater risk standing outside a bus than riding in a bus.

Parents and other adults can help students stay safe by teaching them the following rules:

• Students should arrive at the bus stop at least five minutes before the bus is scheduled to pick them up.
• While waiting for the bus, children should stand at least “three giant steps” away from the curb, and line up away from the street.
• Before approaching the bus, children should wait until the bus stops and the door opens.
• Students should sit quietly in their seats and follow the bus driver’s instructions.
• When exiting the bus, students must take care to check that clothing with drawstrings and book bags with straps do not get caught in the handrails or doors.
• Students should never go back for anything left on the bus – it can be retrieved later.
• Students should never bend down near or under the bus to pick up something that has been dropped.
• Students should walk in front of the bus to cross a street to get on or off the bus.
• Students should walk far enough in front of the bus that they can see the bus driver, which is about ten feet in front of the bus.
• Students should stay at least three feet away from the side of a bus.
• Students should never walk behind a bus.

With the cooperation of motorists, parents and children, we can all help keep Lewis County students safe.