Back to school: Georgia school buses gear up for new year

ATLNATA - Students across Georgia are heading back to school over the next few weeks, which means school buses will once again be hitting the roadways in metro Atlanta. 

Fulton County Schools bus driver Felicia Thompson has been transporting students for nearly two decades. 

"We're carrying precious cargo," Thompson told FOX 5's Deidra Dukes. 

On the 6-month anniversary of Addy Pierce's death, the Georgia Department of Public Safety, Governor's Office of Highway Safety, and AAA joined Fulton County Schools officials at a news conference in Sandy Springs on Thursday. 

"We're getting ready to have buses on the road," said Fulton County Schools Transportation Director Vickie Cross. 

Officials remind motorists it's against the law to illegally pass school buses. 

"If you are driving down the road, and you see a school bus that's got their lights and arm activated because they are picking up or dropping off kids, and you are on the same road as that bus, you are required by law to stop," Governor's Office of Highway Safety Communication Director Robert Hydrick explained. 

A new law named after Addy, which state lawmakers passed following her death, strengthens the penalties for motorists who illegally pass school buses. Those convicted face a $1,000 fine and up to a year in jail. 

Addy was struck and killed while boarding a school bus in Henry County in February. 

Officials said the school bus was at a full stop, had its stop sign displayed, and its red flashing lights on, when a driver failed to stop and struck the child as she crossed the road. 

"Our goal is very simple," said Hydrick. "We don't want another family like Addy's family to have to undergo the loss of losing a child in a crash that is totally preventable." 

Georgia’s school bus laws 

State law mandates that all motorists must halt for school buses engaged in the boarding or disembarking of students, signaled by the activation of flashing red lights and the deployment of the stop sign arm. 

An exception to this protocol is recognized on highways divided by a physical median, such as one made of dirt, grass, or concrete, where only the traffic moving in the same direction as the stopped school bus is obliged to stop. 

Prior to halting, school buses will deploy flashing amber lights, warning both oncoming and following drivers to decrease speed in anticipation of a required stop. These yellow lights are a preliminary alert that is followed by the red flashing lights, signaling that the bus has halted to load or unload its young passengers. 

It is imperative that drivers exercise increased vigilance near school bus stops, given the unpredictable nature of children. Drivers must refrain from moving again until it has been confirmed that all children have either boarded the bus safely in the morning or are a minimum of 12 feet away from the roadside in the afternoon. 

The safe continuation of the journey for drivers is only permissible once the school bus has withdrawn its stop sign arm and ceased the flashing of its red lights, indicating that the path is clear of all students. Compliance with these regulations is vital to ensure the ongoing safety of students during the school commutes.