Worthington school buses to get stop arm cameras with $60,000 grant

By Minnesota law, vehicles are required to stop 20 feet away from the bus when its stop arm is out and red lights are flashing.

It happens about 50 times a year for the buses serving District 518, and most of the time, it happens with oncoming traffic rather than vehicles behind the school bus.

By Minnesota law, vehicles are required to stop 20 feet away from the bus when its stop arm is out and red lights are flashing, allowing kids a moment or two of safety to embark or disembark from the vehicle and get to a sidewalk or lawn.

That time is important, as students can be small and hard for drivers to see, particularly if other obstacles are present. Young people also sometimes show little situational awareness and more impulsivity than adults, moving suddenly or in directions a driver might not expect.

“Kids are unpredictable. I think that’s the biggest part,” said Chris Kielblock, a manager at Bud’s.

While some of the buses already have cameras, they can only get a rear shot of the illegally-passing vehicle, Fritz explained. The new cameras will get front and back shots as well, making the vehicles and their drivers much easier to identify.

“It’s a pretty clear shot,” Fritz said.

While the company has until October to install them, they hope to do it sooner, by the time school starts in August.

What they and their drivers would really like, though, is for the cameras to become completely unnecessary.

“If we had zero a week, that would be a perfect world,” Fritz said. “I don’t know if people don’t understand they need to stop, or what.”

After the morning rush on Friday, a group of Bud’s drivers clustered around a table in a company break room, sipping coffee and chatting.

One driver said she’d been passed by a person who, after getting by the bus, looked at the bus driver, went a little farther and paused, clearly realizing they’d broken the law. It was the second time that bus driver has been passed this year.

Another driver said he preferred country routes because it happens less there.

Bus drivers must always be alert, not just for traffic and other drivers who aren’t watching, but for kids who aren’t watching either, and step in front of the bus. Even bikes and e-bikes can prove hazardous, particularly if they aren’t obeying the traffic laws.

The group of bus drivers agreed that it’s particularly irritating when drivers only slow down to a creep rather than stopping for the sign and lights, because it’s not always clear whether they actually will stop or not.

“You cannot let the kid out until the vehicle is actually stopped,” a driver said.

“Pay attention to the big yellow school bus,” another advised.

“If the amber lights are on, prepare to stop,” one chimed in.

“And get off the phone!”

“Waterville friends of the murderer said he could drop five quail with as many shots, and the unarmed wardens had no chance at all.”

The two women did share something in common, however: both of them married Clarence Larson, Martha first, in 1928, and then, after Martha’s untimely death and Clarence’s acquittal for her murder, Jean married Clarence in 1964.

This year, the shiny red-and-gold parade float with the giant turkey strutting on the front end and the King Turkey Day Board of Directors waving to the crowd on the other end turns 70 years old.

Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.

The Trust Project

A 1999 graduate of Jackson County Central and a 2003 graduate of Augsburg College, Kari Lucin started writing for newspapers in Minnesota and North Dakota in 2006. During her time as a reporter, she covered beats including education, watershed, county and agriculture, and frequently wrote about health and science. She has also served as an online content coordinator and an engagement specialist at various Forum Communications properties. She was a marketing assistant at Iowa Lakes Community College in Estherville for two years, where she did design work in addition to writing and social media management.

Lucin is currently a community editor with the Globe of Worthington.

Email: klucin@dglobe.com
Phone: (507) 376-7319