The school bus message: stop

More than 230,000 Iowa kids ride a school bus every day. And it's not only school bus drivers who are responsible for their safety.

Everyone who drives bears a responsibility to look out for buses and their young passengers. When the amber lights flash and the stop arm extends, slow down and stop. It's the law.

That seems simple enough, but according to a recent Gazette report published in The Gazette, the message often is not getting through.

Cedar Rapids bus drivers have already reported 137 stop arm violations this school year, compared with 197 all of last year and 59 in 2007-2008.

Iowa City, Coralville, Linn County and Johnson County also received a troubling number of reports. It's tough to swallow that dozens of drivers would risk children's safety just to avoid a brief delay.

No doubt some of those drivers are flat-out irresponsible or dangerously distracted. But it's also possible they don't know the rules.

Do motorists on two-lane roads understand that they need to slow down to 20 mph or less when they meet a bus with its amber lights flashing, and that they must stop when its stop arm is extended?

Are they aware that it's against the law to pass a school bus with its amber lights flashing? Do they know they must stop no closer than 15 feet behind a school bus with its stop arm out?

If they break those laws, do they understand the bus driver can report them to police? And that the fine and court costs combined is nearly $200?

Too many folks don't know or ignore this stuff. We need a campaign similar to past efforts that convinced more motorists to wear seat belts and slow down in construction zones.

Road signs, both traditional and electronic, could carry messages warning and informing drivers of school bus laws and fines. The buses themselves could become rolling safety billboards reminding drivers of the rules. Drivers renewing their licenses could be remind of what's expected of them when they come upon a school bus with lights flashing.

Not all of these things necessarily require lots more money. We also encourage lawmakers to consider reprioritizing some scarce safety dollars into school bus education efforts. Protecting 230,000 Iowa kids should be a high priority, recession or no recession.