National School Bus Safety Week will take place from October 20 to 24, and the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office – San Jacinto Station is reminding drivers about the importance of stopping for school buses with flashing red lights. The reminder comes as part of a broader effort to increase safety for children traveling to and from school.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports that between 2000 and 2023, there were 61 deaths in crashes involving drivers who illegally passed stopped school buses. Of those fatalities, 26 were pedestrians aged 18 or younger.
California law generally requires vehicles traveling in both directions to stop when a school bus displays flashing red lights. Drivers must remain stopped until the lights are turned off and all children have safely crossed the road.
Corporal Ray Cortez stated, “When a school bus’s red lights are flashing and the stop-arm is extended, drivers have a legal responsibility to slow down and come to a complete stop. Parents, caregivers and children are relying on drivers to follow the law to keep them safe.”
Funding for this program was provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety through NHTSA.
For more information about careers with the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office, interested individuals can visit joinrso.org or call 1-888-Join-RSD.
