With the new school year around the corner, there are several safety tips to keep in mind as students return to the classroom.
Iowa State Patrol Trooper Jared Arbegast covers District 9 in Iowa, which includes Franklin, Butler, Hardin and Grundy counties in the broadcast area, and he tells RadioOnTheGo News drivers need to be extra cautious when approaching a school bus.
“So when the stop arm is out, you cannot go past the bus. And if you remember a few, well, it’s been almost 10 years ago now, Kadyn’s law came into effect. And it is a 30-day suspension for the first offense for driving past that. Also, it could be jail time if it deemed serious enough. So that’s something we’ve been really trying to enforce over the last few years to make a difference in that. Because there’s still people that are running stop signs. ‘And why are we doing that?’ Look who’s on that bus. It’s the most important people in the world. It’s our children.”
In 2012, the Iowa Legislature unanimously adopted Kadyn’s law. The law was in response to the death of seven-year-old, Kadyn Halverson of Northwood, who was struck by a pickup and killed while trying to cross the road to board a school bus in May 2011. The law increased the criminal penalties for passing a stopped school bus and increased the license sanctions for these offenses.
Arbegast says though these incidents have decreased since the law passed over 12 years ago, drivers still need to be alert when those school bus lights flash.
“You know, society changes, it goes up and down and people forget. And then we’re also, we need to make sure we’re out enforcing the laws and that seems to make a difference. So the biggest thing is if you see a big yellow school bus, which is pretty identifiable, obviously, make sure you’re slowing down and watching around it. Cause you also don’t know what the kids are going to be doing around the bus. Are they on the bikes or somebody else? Are they going to run out and not look, not listening to the driver, tell them it is safe to go, you know, but none of us are perfect. So we just need to really be more vigilant around them big yellow school buses and actually take driving into our own hands, slow down and pay attention and expect the unexpected.”
Iowa Department of Transportation data shows in the last 10 years, almost 2,000 crashes in the state have involved a school bus. 11 of those crashes were fatal, with 13 deaths overall.
