WILKES-BARRE, LUZERNE COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — A Luzerne County mother says she is on a mission to prevent injuries and possibly save lives at school bus stops.
This comes after she and her seven-year-old son had a close call at a bus stop last week.
A big electronic sign was put in place last year to warn drivers, all drivers, to watch out for school buses and to urge those drivers they must stop when a school bus is stopped and has its warning lights and safety arms on.
But it seems many drivers are ignoring the warnings or aren’t paying attention and one mother has a video to prove it.
That drama unfolded last Friday as Alison Wynder was crossing Coal Street near Empire Court to walk her seven-year-old son home from the bus stop.
“I mean this is the closest thing to a disaster without it being a disaster. I mean I’ve been trying to be proactive instead of reactive,” Wynder explained.
Wynder has been posting on social media what she and other parents have been witnessing in recent months.
“And I saw him coming and everybody and beep beep everybody blowing horns. The bus driver going like this. You know slow down motion. I saw it, I saw the car coming towards me and my kid. It body-checked him. He had a red mark on his body,” Wynder added.
She took this video last December as vehicles blew by the school bus that had its warning lights on and safety arms engaged.
“I mean every school bus is yellow. How do you not know there are children involved morning afternoon or evening? It’s a yellow school bus. There are usually children around,” Wynder continued.
Janelle Davison is a manager of Student Transportation of America (STA) the company that runs the buses in the Wilkes-barre Area School District.
“What message do you have for drivers out there,” Eyewitness News asked
“Watch the red on the school buses, pay attention it could mean a child’s life,” Davison replied.
“What does the law say? People see four lanes of the highway, five with a turning lane, they still have to stop in both directions with lights flashing,” Eyewitness News asked.
“That’s correct unless there’s a median in the road you have to stop,” Davison responded.
Wilkes-Barre Police have increased patrols in this area during the mornings and afternoons when students are being picked up or dropped off. Drivers who pass school buses when they are stopped face fines of at least $250. Five points on their driving record and a 60-day license suspension.
