IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI)– A sharp rise in drivers ignoring school bus stop signs in Bonneville County has bus drivers and deputies on edge, warning that one careless mistake could cost a child’s life.
In just nine weeks of the school year, Bonneville bus driver Jenny Sharp has already recorded as many stop arm violations as she saw all of last year, a surge local law enforcement calls for concern.
“So far this year, I have seen an increase of stop arm violations. In the nine weeks, ten weeks that we’ve been in school, I have had as many so far in these nine and ten weeks as I had all last school year,” Sharp said.
Bryan Lovell from the Bonneville County Sheriff’s Office says this increase in school bus stop violations is shocking.
“Our deputies have been receiving six to 10 stop arm violations a week just in the last month or so. And that’s that’s quite a bit. It’s quite unusual,” Lovell said.
But why? Both Sharp and Lovell believe that drivers are either not paying attention or in a hurry.
“I want to tell the drivers to slow down, especially when you see a school bus driver. If their amber lights are on, that doesn’t mean speed up and get around them. That means come to a complete stop before the red lights come on,” Sharp said.
“It’s important to really remind drivers and message out to motorists that they need to use extra caution and pay attention around these big yellow buses,” Lovell said.
