By Ashley M. Casey

Staff Writer

At least once a day, a driver passes a stopped Baldwinsville Central School District bus.

“The majority of passing on reds is not done with malice. They simply don’t notice,” said Dana Nelson, B’ville’s assistant transportation supervisor.

While drivers may not do it intentionally, passing a stopped school bus with its lights flashing and its stop sign out is illegal — and dangerous. The district is hoping to cut down the number of incidents by installing extra warning lights on its buses.

So far, the district has installed supplemental warning lights on the front of 12 buses.

Nelson said he learned about the lights from an article in School Transportation News detailing an Ohio school’s pilot program.

“The data that they compiled through this pilot program is just astounding,” Nelson said, adding that the Ohio school saw a 50 percent reduction in illegal passing of school buses.

The flashing red LED lights are installed just above the front bumper, which is at eye level for most drivers. Depending on the age and build of the bus, it costs $350 to $450 to outfit each bus.

“That’s very minimal for the safety of our students,” Nelson said.

The district will receive 70 percent of the cost back in state aid during the following budget year.

Jamie Rodems, assistant superintendent for management services, said the district outfitted the first 12 buses with the new lights over the summer. The rest of the fleet will be retrofitted by early 2018.

“There’s just so much other stuff to be done to get the fleet [ready],” he said. “After about the first week of school, we’ll have more time to work on it.”

Of course, the new warning lights are not the only key to the safety of pedestrians and young riders.

“The drivers are trained and we really stress the most dangerous times are unloading and loading students,” Nelson said. “Every student gets a safety briefing [when they get off the bus].”

That safety briefing includes simple instructions such as being cognizant of traffic, holding the handrail when exiting the bus or looking both ways when crossing the street.

“You think about how many kids are on our buses [going] so many miles every day, and nothing has happened,” said Kelly Cary, school information officer. “It’s great. We’re just trying to keep our kids safe.”