The Harrisonburg Department of Public Transportation (HDPT) is shifting gears for another school year to begin in Harrisonburg City Public Schools.
On Aug. 25 city schools will be back in session and HDPT will begin another year of transporting thousands of students from their neighborhood, safely to school.
In addition to watching for school buses, motorists should be mindful of pedestrians and bicyclists commuting to and from school.
It is required by law for all motorists to stop their vehicles when approaching from any direction, any school bus that is stopped on any highway, private road or school driveway for the purpose of taking on or discharging children. The driver of the vehicle does not need to stop when approaching a school bus if the school bus is stopped in the opposite lane of travel with a divided highway or physical barrier in between.
“Our duty is to safely transport students to and from school,” said Dave Garber, school bus superintendent. “It is also the responsibility of motorists to help us do our jobs by paying attention to school buses, using caution when driving near us and stopping when we stop.”
Officers with the Harrisonburg Police Department (HPD) will also be proactively monitoring school bus routes to watch for motorists not stopping for buses.
“We received quite a few complaints at the end of the school year for vehicles passing a bus while it was stopped to load or unload students,” explained HPD Traffic Officer Wayne Westfall. “This year the department is taking a proactive approach in working closely with HDPT to educate and inform the public before we will begin enforcement.”
