RAVENSWOOD, W.VA — Wednesday marks the first day of classes for schools in Jackson County, and with that comes the return of school buses on the roads.
The Jackson County Sheriff’s Department is taking a proactive approach to making sure students are safe getting on and off buses this year. Sheriff Ross Mellinger makes it clear that passing a stopped school bus is against the law, and they have ways of tracking down anyone who does.
“We try to draw a hard line in the sand when it comes to our school bus safety and work well with everybody and the board of education to secure bus footage and names and addresses of everybody and just try to make it as impactful as we can,” Mellinger told MetroNews affiliate WMOV in Ravenswood.
The stop signs on the side of school buses are not for show either.
“It’s no different than a stop sign on the corner of a street. When the lights are on and the stop sign is out on the side of the bus, that’s exactly what that means, and there’ll be heavy consequences if you violate that,” Mellinger said.
Mellinger said that accidents involving school buses often occur because drivers are distracted by their typical morning rush. He’s asking the public to stay alert on their morning commutes with students headed back to school.
“Not paying attention—that’s the biggest factor. Just their mind is elsewhere. They’re not paying attention, and oftentimes these mistakes made while driving can be crucial,” he said.
One tip offered by the sheriff’s department is to prepare the night before for the next day; that way there’s less of a rush to get out the door and on the road.
“A few minutes tonight could save you five minutes tomorrow, which would prevent you from being in a hurry, and oftentimes that’s when you see accidents where the mistakes driving actually occur is just getting in a hurry,” Mellinger said.
With school starting back up, increased law enforcement presence will be in place around Jackson County.
“The beginning of the school year always marks an increase in presence with law enforcement, but in conjunction with our SHIELD program, we’ll have deputies and officers spread across the county in various locations and at various times throughout the school system,” Mellinger said.