The dip in the roadway in front of Mt Cavalry Church on County Home Rd. poses a particular risk for bus drivers.
A half mile north of the County Home and Wiregrass Rd. intersection, near the Duke Energy building, is a problematic stretch of road. Reckless drivers pass school buses with wanton disregard.
ROCKINGHAM — School bus travel is one of the safest forms of transportation for students. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, school buses account for less than 1% of traffic fatalities nationwide.
Nonetheless, one long-time Richmond County Schools bus driver is looking to make her route and her students even safer.
Ms. Summer drives Bus 73 for the Washington St. Elementary School. Her passengers range in age from four to ten years old. She has come to recognize that two distinct portions of her route are particularly troublesome.
County Home Rd. on either side of Mt Calvary Church poses particular concern for Ms. Summer. Headed east bound just past the church, the road takes a precipitous dip. That low lying area creates a blind spot for oncoming traffic — right at Ms. Summers pick up and drop off point.
“I have a couple houses that are close to after that church. There is a drop off and they are coming up a slight incline and the speed limit changes; however, a fully loaded truck cannot shift fast enough to be at the speed limit or stop. They can’t see me because you’ve got the sun and my bus is yellow and orange. My lights are flashing but they can’t really make it out because the sun is in their eyes,” Ms. Summer said.
She says that drivers frequently resort to passing her bus despite her flashing lights and stop arm.
Passing a stopped school bus in North Carolina is the most serious moving violation. The North Carolina School Bus Stop Law, North Carolina General Statute 20-217, makes it illegal to pass a stopped school bus, with penalties resulting in a $500 fine and five points on a driver’s license.
Most traffic violations are mere infractions, but passing a stopped school bus is a class 1 misdemeanor.
Ms. Summer would like to see school bus signs added on both sides of Mt Cavalry Church on County Home Rd.
“I want those lights put up, you know, that a school bus crossing is coming, like what they have for school zones, because that’s a residential area. There’s more than just my bus,” Ms. Summer said.
Half a mile north of the intersection of County Home Rd. and Wiregrass Rd. is a Duke Energy Facility. That’s another point of consternation for Ms. Summer on her route.
“Right after the Duke Energy substation, when you are coming from HWY 1 on that stretch going towards County Home Rd. before you get to the traffic light. That’s not as big a problem with people seeing, they just don’t care. They are going to try to beat my stop arm, that’s what that’s about,” she said.
She went on to say that the afternoons aren’t as bad on Wiregrass Rd., but that “they just still disrespect my lights.”
Ms. Summer surmises that the bus passing perpetrators are frequently younger drivers.
“In the morning it’s usually the teenagers going to Richmond. They are going to school and they’re usually already late and they are trying to get to school on time before the bell rings,” she said.
She understands the rush to get to class on time, but “Just because you get to drive, let these kids live long enough so that they’ll be able to drive to school as well.”
Ms. Summer said she is going to speak with the bus coordinator and attend the public comment portion of the Richmond County Commissioners meeting in order to drum up support for additional bus signage along the problematic routes.
Overall, she just wants to keep her kids safe.
“I don’t want it to be where they do something about it, after something bad happens,” she said.