FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 23, 2002
CONTACT: SID GAULDEN, 803-896-8755

COLUMBIA - The South Carolina Department of Public Safety today announced that it will join other law enforcement agencies and children’s advocacy groups nationwide this week in observance of National School Bus Safety Week. DPS began a program in August to get tough on people passing stopped school buses. Since the enforcement and public education initiative began on August 13, 119 citations -- -including 93 for passing a stopped school bus -- have been issued.

DPS teamed up with the State Department of Education in August to put state troopers on buses, in patrol cars and on motorcycles to shadow buses. The program has been successful in educating motorists about the law regarding passing a stopped school bus but also in changing driving behavior. Troopers and bus drivers have seen a general improvement in driver behavior as the law enforcement presence around school buses has increased.

“Because we have seen such success with the program, we plan to continue and expand it,” said DPS Director B. Boykin Rose. “We will conduct a major enforcement push prior to Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays and then when children return to school in the new year.”

DPS and DOE began the campaign in part because of the volume of complaints from school bus drivers who daily saw motorists operating recklessly around school buses. The fine for passing a stopped school bus can be as much as $1,000 and up to 30 days in jail for a first offense.

The highest number of citations has been issued in Charleston, Dorchester and Orangeburg County areas. Other violations that have been issued as a result of this enforcement effort include: failure to yield, speeding and operating uninsured.

“National School Bus Safety Week is designed to do what South Carolina has been doing since August - bring attention to the dangers children face when boarding a bus and for law enforcement to strictly enforce our school bus safety laws,” said Highway Patrol Commander Col. Mike Kelley. “I am urging all law enforcement and the public to join us in a renewed commitment to getting our children to school safely.”

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