Drivers: Prepare to stop behind school buses at highway-rail grade crossings
WASHINGTON, DC – (August 26, 2009) Operation Lifesaver (OL) encourages all drivers to give students and school buses a brake, especially at highway-rail intersections.
“Look + Listen = Live,” OL’s public service newspaper ad, featuring a cartoon of a school bus crossing the tracks, is slated for use throughout September. Its message to drivers: be prepared to stop if you are behind a school bus approaching a railroad crossing.
“When school bus drivers approach railroad crossings nationwide, they are required to stop, so they have a good view of the tracks,” Helen Sramek, Operation Lifesaver President, said. “Many bus drivers also ask their students to quiet down, so the driver can listen for a train. “
What can individual drivers do to help these drivers and their students? Be patient. Honking or speeding around these buses only adds to the danger. Obey the law and stay safely behind the bus while it is stopped.
Remember, the children in the bus could belong to a friend or relative. Let’s promote safety for all children and make this a safe school year from beginning to end.
To learn more:
1) See all safety tips
2) Safety tips for bus drivers
3) Newspaper editors: Download the OL School Bus Safety Cartoon below.
4) Find your state’s OL coordinator under “Contact Your State Coordinator at top of this page.
Operation Lifesaver is a nonprofit, public education and outreach organization dedicated to eliminating death and injury at the nation’s railroad crossings and on the rights-of-way. State Coordinators for Operation Lifesaver work to promote highway-rail safety in 50 states and the District of Columbia, particularly to school bus drivers, professional truck drivers, new drivers and community groups. In 2008 more than three million people heard the OL message from trained Operation Lifesaver Presenters or at safety events.
