Fewer cars pass stopped school buses

Fewer motorists are passing stopped school buses in Georgia, according to a one-day survey conducted by school districts this past spring.

The survey showed that 6,807 motorists illegally passed school buses when they had their stop arm down. That was down from 7,349 illegal passings last year and 8,102 in 2011.

Since 1995, 13 Georgia students have been struck and killed at a school bus stop, according to the state Department of Education, which, along with the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety, has been urging motorists to obey traffic laws regarding school bus stops.

Vehicles traveling in both directions must stop when a school bus lowers its stop arm on a two-lane road or a multi-lane road with no median or barrier. Motorists traveling in the opposite direction can proceed with caution when there is an unpaved median or concrete barrier separating the opposing lanes. But motorists traveling in the same direction as the school bus must always stop.

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