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Since the beginning of the school year, four school buses have been involved in a traffic accident in the Golden Triangle.
In August, a Caledonia woman was arrested after rear-ending a Lowndes County School District bus while allegedly driving drunk. A student getting off the bus suffered a bruised foot.
The same day, a second LCSD bus was side-swiped by a vehicle with a trailer traveling beside it. Someone rear-ended a Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District bus rear-ended one week later.
On Thursday, another LCSD bus was rear-ended at the intersection of Yorkville and Stadium roads during its morning route. In the three most recent accidents, no injuries were reported.
But with precious cargo potentially on board, what are the laws around driving near a school bus? And what should you do when you see a school bus on the road to keep students safe?
What are the laws around driving near a school bus?
According to the 2023 driver’s manual issued by the Mississippi Department of Public Safety, drivers should be “especially careful” when sharing the road with school buses.
Each time a driver encounters a bus that has stopped with its red lights flashing and stop sign extended, Mississippi law requires drivers in both directions to come to a complete stop at least 10 feet away and to remain stopped until children have crossed the roadway and the bus has resumed motion, its red lights are no longer flashing, and its sign is retracted.
The only exception is if a driver is traveling on a divided highway with four or more lanes. Drivers traveling the same direction as the school bus should follow all of the standard procedures. Drivers traveling the opposite direction may continue to travel without stopping.
In 2011, the state legislature passed Nathan’s Law, named for a 5-year-old boy who was killed by a driver passing a stopped school bus. The law created higher fines for motorists passing a stopped school bus and added a felony charge to the law in the case that a child is injured.
Today, a driver that illegally passes a school bus can be fined between $350 and $750 and imprisoned for up to a year for a first offense. For other offenses within a 5-year period, drivers can be fined between $750 and $1,500 and imprisoned for a year. After a second conviction, drivers’ licenses can be suspended for 90 days.
While passing a school bus is typically a misdemeanor, any driver that injures a student while passing a bus can receive a felony charge of aggravated assault and up to 20 years in prison.
What should you do when you see a school bus on the road?
Lori Cargile, an assistant principal at New Hope High School who helps coordinate the district’s bus routes, emphasized the importance of paying attention to the road when buses are around.
“With the school buses in any area, you have to pay attention to the bus for the fact that there are frequent stops,” Cargile said. “Our buses have warning lights and then a red light and a stop sign that comes out before they drop off a student. But you have to pay attention so that you’ll know when those things happen.”
Cargile said the district already strategizes stops – including the shape of the road, the direction of traffic, and the side of the road the student is on when they are dropped off – to emphasize safety. School bus drivers constantly watch the road, including checking to make sure vehicles behind or approaching them are stopping, she said.
But drivers sharing the road also need to be vigilant when a school bus is nearby to keep students safe, she said. Cargile encouraged drivers to be even more aware than normal when they are driving near schools or when they see a bus to help the district keep students safe.
“School buses can be on the road at any time of the day – for field trips, athletic events and those types of things – but during those peak hours … the morning transition and the afternoon transition, we just would like for people to be even that much more diligent,” Cargile said.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration advises that drivers stay alert near bus stops and watch for children who may run into the street. Yellow flashing lights indicate that a bus is preparing to stop, and should help drivers prepare to stop.
“Many of our families rely on bus transportation to get to and from school and the safety of those students is our top priority,” SOCSD Superintendent Tony McGee said in a text message sent to The Dispatch. “Community members who share the road with our buses can help by making sure they follow all traffic laws related to school buses. We’re carrying precious cargo and it’s the responsibility of everyone on the road to use extra caution.”
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You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 47 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
