Police Remind Residents Of School Bus Safety Tips

CRYSTAL LAKE, IL — The Crystal Lake Police Department is again providing residents with bus safety tips as a reminder on how to keep children safe as school gets back in session soon.

Police said that most children killed in bus-related crashes are either getting on or off the bus and are hit by a school bus or car illegally passing a stopped bus, according to a news release from the Crystal Lake Police Department.

Residents are urged to be aware of school buses and to be extra cautious when driving through neighborhoods.

Police are also reminding residents of the following traffic safety laws regarding school buses:

• When a school bus is traveling on a two-lane street and is stopped to pick up or drop off children, the vehicles in all lanes must stop. All vehicles must remain stopped until the bus stop arm is fully retracted and its warning lights stop blinking.
• Vehicles should stop at least 20 feet from the bus to allow children to cross the street safely. When a school bus is on a four-lane road with at least two lanes traveling in the opposite direction, only those lanes of traffic traveling in the same direction as the school bus must stop.
• School bus routes are designed so that children will not be required to cross four or more lanes of traffic to reach their residences. Drivers should use caution and drive carefully when when they see a bus or when they see children at a bus stop.