Plum school, police focusing on safety for National School Bus Safety Week
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The Plum School District and borough police will be putting an extra focus on safety at bus stops this week as part of their observation of National School Bus Safety Week and Operation Safe Stop.
Schools Superintendent Brendan Hyland and police Chief Lanny Conley visited a bus stop in the Highlands neighborhood of Plum on Monday morning, where two children were picked up shortly after 8:30 to go to Pivik Elementary.
As fall moves into winter and mornings get darker, Hyland said they want to remind people to drive safely.
The district has about 3,500 students and operates its own buses. In the mornings, students are picked up at 963 stops, Hyland said.
The most common complaint the district gets is about vehicles going past buses that are stopped with their red lights flashing.
“For the life of me, I can’t understand why someone would do that,” Hyland said.
Of the hundreds of bus stops in the borough, Conley said the district has identified five where there are issues with drivers passing stopped buses.
Those stops are at:
• 650 Center Road about 7:30 a.m.
• 146 Unity Center Road about 8:25 a.m.
• 1032 Unity Center Road about 8:35 a.m.
• 1032 Unity Center Road about 7:35 a.m.
• Edenburg Drive near Old Leechburg Road about 7 a.m.
Conley said officers will get to as many stops as they can this week, with a more visible presence at those five. The big day will be Wednesday, for which additional officers will be working.
“Hopefully, it creates a deterrence for these drivers who aren’t paying attention,” he said. “Hopefully, we’ll get the message across and create a safer environment.”
State police will participate in Operation Safe Stop on Wednesday. Enforcement efforts might include troopers riding on school buses, observing violations and reporting them to nearby troopers on patrol.
Each illegal pass of a stopped school bus is potentially a life-threatening situation for the 1.5 million students riding buses to and from school each day in Pennsylvania, state police said.
At Plum schools, events this week will focus on the safety of students, vehicle safety practices and laws, and pedestrian sidewalk and crosswalk use.
Staff at Pivik, O’Block Elementary and Holiday Park Intermediate will implement bus and pedestrian safety lessons for all students. The middle and high schools will review school bus and pedestrian safety procedures.