Reminder for drivers: The old school bus passing law is back this school year

Outside of the Hands-Free Georgia Act changes in 2018, the road rule that seems to draw the most confusion from "Gridlock Guy" readers is about passing school buses.

In 2018, Georgia legislators essentially liberalized when oncoming vehicles could pass stopped school buses as a concession for allowing automated cameras to catch violators. The new rule went into effect July 1st of last year- the same day as the stricter distracted driving rules; it lasted less than eight months.

On Feb. 15th, 2019, Gov. Brian Kemp signed a revision into law that brought back the tougher regulations for oncoming vehicles.

The 2018 law had eliminated the need for a raised or grassy median to be in place for oncoming vehicles to pass a school bus with its stop arm extended.

Very simply, the 2019 revision has brought back that requirement for a center divider. This was Kemp's first signing in his new post: out with the new, in with the old.

The 2018 law change had caused confusion, as drivers on busy roads still continued to stop in the opposite direction of buses. Then groupthink persisted. When some people stopped unnecessarily, others stopped also, so as to not have appeared to be in violation. The herd caused people to doubt their own knowledge of the laws. It was a mess.

One reader wrote in to describe this mess on Highway 9 in Roswell during morning drive. They, of course, were hoping that people would obey the 2018 version of the law and that traffic would start moving better. Alas, now people again must stop on any road that doesn't have some sort of median divider.

Child safety was the main concern of advocates for this reversion. Although school buses normally offload their precious cargo on the same side of the road as the actual stop, vehicles speeding by at 35 mph or more in the opposite direction seemed to be a recipe for disaster.

Kemp's Senate Bill 25 signature put the rule changes into effect immediately. So the rules actually got stricter in the middle of the spring semester.

But the new school year warrants both a reminder of this change and a grander focus on school-zone safety.

With 56 million children heading back to school, AAA again launches their "School's Open — Drive Carefully" campaign. Pretty straightforward, right?

The auto safety organization's data shows that afternoon driving in school zones may require even more attention: nearly a third of all child-pedestrian fatalities occur between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m.

One factor in this is likely that roads are simply busier when school adjourns than when it starts each morning. Nonetheless, this is a sobering statistic.

"We are aware of the risk to children in and around school zones," says Sasha Marcinczyk, Georgia Field Vice President, AAA — The Auto Club Group, on why AAA has championed this campaign since 1946. "If Georgia motorists slow down and stay alert, they can save lives."

That notion is certainly why the first of AAA's seven safety tips is about watching school-zone speed. Pedestrians hit by vehicles at 25 mph (the normal school-zone speed) are two-thirds more likely to survive being struck by a vehicle than at 35 mph.

If that stat doesn't prompt someone to drive with an eggshell under their throttle, none will.

Other AAA back-to-school driving safety tips include eliminating distractions behind the wheel, being extra careful when driving in reverse, reminding teenagers of driving risks (crashes are the number -one killer of teens and most occur between 3 p.m. and 7 p.m.), coming to complete stops at stop signs and lights, and watching for bicycles.

AAA also reminds people to also be on the lookout for its School Safety Patrollers. Around 654,000 school children in this program help remind commuters, parents — and other students — to be mindful of each other and safe.

Sometimes schools are hidden atop hills or around curves, so Safety Patrollers with their bright yellow or orange belts really stand out and remind those passing by that they are in a school zone.

Whether around buses or schools, we all have a responsibility to keep children and each other safe. Remember in most cases that vehicles must stop around loading buses. And don't forget the importance of minding speeds and distractions near schools.

A small change in speed or a small lapse in attention can be the difference in life or death.

Doug Turnbull, the PM drive Skycopter anchor for Triple Team Traffic on 95.5 WSB, is the Gridlock Guy. He also writes a traffic blog and hosts a podcast with Smilin' Mark McKay on wsbradio.com. 

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