School Bus Safety

After reading about the horrific accident in Florida where seven kids lost their lives because someone was not paying attention to a stopped school bus, I started paying attention to buses driving today and I noticed quite a few cars being "cavalier" with the bus being stopped.
I asked Police Chief Metaxa to step up enforcement of this issue. As all of you know the village is home to 9 school districts and has Round Lake High School, Village School, the Early Education Center, Saint Joe's and the Round Lake Area Park District as well.
In addition kids ride buses in all our neighborhoods all the time to schools outside of Round Lake. We need to make sure they are at least as safe as they can be in our village. I have also asked Chief Metaxa to report to the board on the status of this enforcement issue. For those of us who need a refresher on the rules, here are some I found on the internet.

• Stop for stopped school busses. Period. If you see a stopped school bus you are required to stop. The only exception is if you are on a roadway with a concrete or raised earth median between your car and the bus'— and even then you should slow down and look out for children.
• Do not proceed until the school bus stop sign is pulled in. Even if it appears all the children have boarded the bus or moved away from it, do not move forward until the bus driver indicates it is safe to do so by pulling in the school bus stop sign.
• Watch for children as you approach or pull away from a school bus. Kids don't always think about safety, and may dart around the bus,unexpectedlyy, into the street. Be on the lookout and ready to react.

While our thoughts and prayers are with the family of the kids in Florida. This can all serve as a reminder to be vigilant of our kids and our neighbors kids!