Drivers urged to observe safety rules
By Sidney Bartee
As the school year begins, hundreds of children commute to and from the local campuses by school bus, car, bicycle, and on foot.
Drivers should be aware of the increased risk of injury to children that results from speeding or distracted driving, especially when combined with students who may forget to watch for oncoming traffic.
Although the first couple days of classes at both Albany school campuses went very smoothly, school authorities want to put more community focus on school transportation safety.
Flashing Lights
Motorists need to be aware that buses do consistently stop on Main Street although they try to avoid having any children cross the street. Not all buses have the stop signs that come up from the sides, but they all have flashing lights.
“We want all drivers to slow down and be ready to make frequent stops,” Albany police chief Mike House said. “Drivers also need to constantly watch for children.”
According to Texas DPS, it is illegal to pass a school bus that is stopped and operating a visual signal – either flashing red lights or a stop sign – and those who violate the law could face fines ranging between $500 to $1200.
A driver traveling in either direction on a roadway must stop when approaching a bus that is stopped and operating a visual signal.
If the bus lights are flashing yellow, other drivers need to slow. If lights are red, they need to stop, regardless of which lane they are in or whether they are behind the bus or meeting it from the other direction.
If a road is divided only by a left-turning lane, drivers on both sides of the roadway must stop with alternating red flashing lights activated
This rule applies to all roads that do not have driving medians or barriers. Turning lanes are not considered to be medians, and the rule applies no matter how many lanes the road has.
Texas law also states that the vehicles must remain stopped until at least one or more of the following things have occurred:
•The school bus resumes motion.
•The school bus driver signals other drivers that they may proceed.
•The visual signal used by the bus (usually blinking lights) is turned off.
Drivers are cautioned to slow down in school zones, and to be aware of children walking to and from school or waiting for buses.
Other Cautions
Texting, as well as reading or writing an email, is prohibited while driving on any public road in Texas.
Talking on cell phones is also prohibited in all active school zones.
If you must make a phone call or send a text, pull over and stop first.
According to the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), one in five crashes involves driver distraction, and drivers who use cell phones in their vehicles have a higher risk of collision than drivers who don’t, whether holding the phone or using a hands-free device.
Traffic fines are doubled in school zones, and tickets for speeding can be as much as $1,000.
The school zone on Highway 180 in Albany is active during student commuting hours and has flashing yellow lights to remind drivers to slow down and stay off the phone; however, local drivers also need to remember that many streets near the elementary school and the secondary campus are marked with 24/7 school zones, whether the Albany ISD classes are in session or not.
According to House, Breckenridge Street is becoming a 25 mph zone during all hours.
The speed limit signs are currently being ordered, House added.
Concerns at NSES
Parents and other designated drivers who drop off and pick up students at NSES are reminded about proper use of the circle drive in front of the building.
•Cell phones are not to be used in the school zone, including the circle drive.
•Smoking is not allowed on campus, including in cars in the circle drive.
•Do not park in the loading and unloading zones.
•Drive slowly in the circle drive.
•Do not pass any car within the loading and unloading zone in the circle drive.
•For dismissal: Pull forward to the next available loading zone area. Your child will be sent to your car. Do not get out of your car inside the loading zones.
•Students should not be allowed to get in or out of any vehicle unless it’s in the right lane.
•Ideally, drivers in the circle drive work in four or five car groupings, with the first car pulling up in the right hand lane past the columns in order to allow enough room for students to disembark from several vehicles at the same time.
•The parking lot north of the campus is reserved for teachers before school and afterwards.
•Students riding bikes to school need to step off of the bike once on campus property, and walk the bike to the rack stationed to the right of the front doors.
•Students at NSES can be dropped off in the circle drive, in front of the school, or after a certain time, in the bus lane.
Use of the Bus Lane
The bus lane can be used by parents to drop off students starting at 7:30 a.m., after the school buses have unloaded.
This lane is only for drop-offs and should not be used for parking, nor to pick up children at the end of the day.
Day-to-day Changes
Parents or caregivers should inform their children of any changes in dismissal proceedings prior to them leaving home each morning.
Homeroom teachers should be apprised of transportation choices for each student, including day-to-day changes, especially for the younger children. Teachers prefer if parents notify any transportation changes for the day in writing.
Parents are asked to refrain from calling the NSES office to change their child’s mode of transportation.
For more information, call the NSES office at 325-762-3384.
Secondary Safety
At the secondary campus, parents and others who pick up and drop off students should observe the traditional rules concerning the circle drive.
•Students may also be dropped off at the gym parking lot or band hall parking lot.
•Parents are being asked not go past the band hall to drop students off in the cafeteria parking lot.
“Congestion isn’t an issue when dropping students off in the mornings, so we are asking all students to be dropped off in the mornings in the circle drive in front of the high school,” said secondary principal Glen Hill. “ This will allow our band to practice safely in the mornings without traffic.”
Administrators ask that no cars pull into the circle drive from 2:45 to 4:00 p.m. This gives the buses full access to the drive.
