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School Bus Crash Raises Concerns
12/01/09 - 04:29 PM
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Jessi Chapin - bio
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Bay County, Fla:

It’s a close call for Bay District students after a semi truck allegedly hit their school bus Monday afternoon.  According to the Florida Highway Patrol, the truck driver faces careless driving charges for hitting the bus while it was dropping off students at a bus stop on Back Beach Rd.  Now, area residents are showing concern over the safety of those stops.

“I was trimming the hedges up at the apartments next to where the bus was stopped… and all of the sudden this big old truck just ran right into the back of it,” said nearby resident Nate Kinion.  He was the first to arrive on scene.

“I dropped my stuff and ran out there to it, and I heard all of these children hollering and screaming,” he said.

The crash caused $8 thousand in damages to both vehicles.  Of the 29 students on board, only 2 were taken to the hospital for minor injuries.

“It’s a semi truck hit a bus.  You expect the worst,” said Bay District Safety and Security Chief Mike Jones, “We got there and it was one of the best scenarios we could ask for.”

But the accident has some saying the 4-lane highway isn’t the place to drop of children.

“Maybe they need to get the transportation department to take a look at where those busses stop and change the routes to where they can stop on those side streets instead of that big highway,” said Kinion.

Jones says that’s exactly what they are doing.  He’s on a 7-person panel currently researching re-route options for those stops.  But, of the 4 thousand bus stops in the Bay District, 200 are on Front and Back Beach roads, making it a difficult task.

“We’re studying that right now, we’re trying to figure out how we can get the busses down there,” said Jones.  He says they’ve considered everything from volunteer bus stop supervisors to more signs.  Re-routing or adding busses is not financially feasible.  Until they reach a solution, his recommendations to drivers are clear.

“Be attentive to the times, folks are going to work coming home from work.  They know that’s when kids are getting on and off the bus,” he said, “Watch out for our babies.”

User Comments

That road is fairly straight with good visibility. Most buses have strobe lights on them and reflective tape that make the quite visible.  When stopped to drop off or pick up they have large red flashing lights.  There is no excuse for not seeing the bus!

Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)  on  12/02  at  08:34 AM
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