Putting A Stop To Red-Light Runners

VEHICULAR SAFETY AROUND SCHOOL BUSSES A GROWING CONCERN

By Ryan McGeeney

Sunday, November 15, 2009

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By the time Carla Kirkland took up acting as an ad-hoc crossing guard twice a day, she was at her wits’ end.

“I thought about standing out there with a pitch fork,” Kirkland said. “With a paintball gun. With my .410. With eggs.”

Kirkland’s 13-year-old daughter Natalie must cross two lanes of heavy traffic to board an eastbound Bentonville school bus each weekday morning. Kirkland said she had just seen too many drivers recklessly swerve around the stopped bus.

While some drivers seemed distracted, either talking or texting on cell phones, others seemed to blatantly ignore the stop sign extended from the side of the bus, Kirkland said.

Eventually, Natalie became so skittish that Kirkland began standing between her ...

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LMHoover says...

there are many drivers that do not obey traffic laws in general. Vary few use turn signals, observe stop signs and red lights. There needs to be a serious crack down on these drivers for the safety of all. Passing a school bus with its sign out should be cause for loss of license.

November 15, 2009 at 12:18 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

cmkdakota says...

I agree, jhoover. The significance of this whole thing is that it happens at least once or more times a week, usually in the mornings. The worst offenders have been women on cell phones driving SUV's or minivans, but not exclusively women! At least twice, a motorist has stopped for the bus and the motorist behind him/her HONKED at the stopped car that was obeying the law!

November 16, 2009 at 12:29 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

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