The message should be clear to everyone. When a school bus stops and the red stop arm that extends from the driver’s side, it’s a warning for motorists to stop so that children can safely board or exit the bus.
Unfortunately, too many motorists disregard that warning, and in doing so put the lives of children at risk. That’s concerning.
So, it was welcome news that local law enforcement personnel from the Columbus Police Department, Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department and Indiana State Police rode Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp. buses the first day of school on Aug. 7 to look for motorists who disregarded stop-arm signals.
While some officers rode the buses, others patrolled nearby so that they could chase down suspected vehicles and drivers. While police didn’t locate any violators the first day, and no tickets were issued, police set a tone early in the school year that violations would not be tolerated.
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The Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department also patrolled for stop-arm violators Aug. 8 and 9. All total, deputies made 16 traffic stops ranging from speeding to school bus stop-arm violations.
This was the first time the three law enforcement agencies coordinated on such a project. Plans already are being discussed for conducting another joint stop-arm enforcement.
We support the idea, and think it would be a good to conduct stop-arm patrols at least twice a semester, so motorists have additional reminders to obey the stop-arm laws, and think about the safety of children.
