3 ways to keep kids alive at the bus stop

Innocent children are dying because drivers are in a hurry, not paying attention, and on their phones

Five children have died at bus stops in just a three days span, with at least 8 others injured.  We all need to review the law on stopping for a school bus in North Carolina. Drivers must be aware that groups of children will be standing around in the dark of the morning, waiting for the bus. Just a few simple steps can help you to avoid hitting children at the bus stop.

Yep. All those tips are for people driving the cars. Why?  Because the ones dying are children.  No matter how well their parents teach them, they are likely to push each other away from the “safety zone” or daydream their way a few steps too far into the street. Even if they all stand like perfect little statues in a spacious cone of safety, distracted drivers will still plow into them IF we don’t make a change.

If you’re behind the wheel, you are driving a two-ton weapon, capable of taking innocent lives.

All it takes…

All it takes is a hurried driver… who thinks he can zoom around the bus, not know an excited kindergartener hopped out before the bus driver was ready.

All it takes is a driver… who just wants to see who sent them a text as they take a turn, not knowing a group of children are in the way of their sharp turn.

All it takes is a driver… who is more concerned about closing their coffee cup than watching for the middle schooler who just ran across the street.

All it takes is a driver… who is busy recording an Instagram story and didn’t realize the bus put out a stop sign.

All it takes to kill someone is a few seconds of distraction.
All it takes to kill someone is a hurried driver.

It’s time to make a change! We must slow down! We are a nation of hurrying, addicted to our screens. Let’s start at home, North Carolina. Let’s stop this from happening in the Topsail area.

It just takes 3 things to preserve the lives of children waiting to be educated.

1. Slow down
2. Put away your phone
3. Review the laws

North Carolina laws about stopping for busses

“On Highway 17 which is a 5 lane highway, with the turn lane, traffic traveling in the SAME direction as the stopped school bus with the lights and stop sign activated, must also stop behind the bus.

On Highway 50 or the secondary roads that are 2 lanes, traffic in BOTH directions must stop for the stopped school bus with the lights and stop sign activated.

Look at the chart and see which scenario applies to the area you travel in.”

– Holly Ridge Police Department

North Carolina’s law on stopping for a school bus