Kentucky Launches School Bus Safety Campaign Targeting Motorists

As a new school year approaches, billboards are going up in Kentucky to remind motorists to watch out for stopped school buses.

The state Department of Education says about 45 billboards will warn of the danger of passing a stopped school bus. The billboards feature an extended stop sign arm on the side of a school bus with the words: “It’s not just a stop sign, it’s a child’s life.”

According to the National School Bus Loading and Unloading Survey, 75 percent of school bus-related fatalities in the 2014-15 school year occurred when a student was hit by a passing vehicle.

The Education Department says that while Kentucky has not recorded any such fatalities, bus drivers often see drivers illegally passing their buses as children attempt to get on and off buses.