Stop on Red. Kids Ahead. School Bus Safety Week

It is National School Bus Safety Week and here in North Florida it is a reminder to all drivers, especially the young teen drivers, that stop on red, kids ahead is part of following the school bus stop laws in Florida.
Here are some great reminders for drivers as school buses approach:

• Leave adequate space between your vehicle and the bus.
• Stop if you are moving in the same direction as a stopped bus.
• Remain stopped until the bus withdraws its Stop sign.
• Be on the lookout for kids around school bus loading and unloading areas.
• Slow down and be especially alert in the residential neighborhoods and school zones.
• Obey all traffic signs and signals.
• Pay attention.
• Reduce any distractions inside your car so you can concentrate on the road and your surroundings, e.g. put down your phone and don't talk or text while driving.
• Take extra time to look for kids at intersections, on medians and on curbs.
• Enter and exit driveways and alleys slowly and carefully.
• Do your part to make every school crossing a safe place for children to walk.
• Pay attention to speed limits, school crossing guards and unpredictable children, since these situations may require you to reduce your speed or stop.
• When children (walking, bicycling or skating) or school crossing guards are present in a crosswalk, drivers must yield or stop at the marked stop line and without stopping in the crosswalk. It is the driver’s responsibility to avoid colliding with pedestrians.

St. Johns County is proactive in promoting school bus safety and encouraging all drivers to take part in learning more about keeping kids safe and educating new teen drivers about the responsibility of operating an automobile.

For more information about School Bus Safety, visit www.floridaschoolbussafety.gov.
Be an educated parent, you will have safer teens.