Keep an eye out for these bright lights when you’re driving in Upshur County

Beth Christian Broschart
January 25, 2022

BUCKHANNON – Upshur County Schools are ‘putting the spotlight’ on buses and reminding drivers to stop — because it is the most important stop of the day. On Tuesday, Upshur County School officials unveiled new safety equipment they are piloting and want to remind folks that school bus safety is everyone’s responsibility.

Upshur County Schools Transportation Director Jodie Akers said the new equipment includes a flashing stop sign that lights up. The yellow lights and headlights ‘wig wag’ and the ‘school bus’ sign on top of the bus also lights up to warn drivers that students are about to load or unload from the bus.

“When we walked into a national school bus transportation conference, the new safety equipment caught my eye,” Akers said. “When you look at this bus compared to the others, there is no comparison. It really makes it stand out.”

Upshur County Superintendent of Schools Dr. Sara Lewis Stankus said on regular buses, the stop sign is not illuminated and does not stand out as well.

The new safety equipment is currently being tested on one bus.

“This is our first pilot,” Akers explained. “We have purchased two additional packages … and we want to install them on the two buses that are going to get the most visibility out there so people can see them. All of the new buses we order from here on will come with this new safety equipment.”

New safety lights and equipment have been installed on an Upshur County School bus as a pilot project to assure better visibility as drivers transport, load and unload precious cargo – Upshur County Schools students. The new lights include a light behind the school bus sign as well as a stop sign that lights up – making the buses more visible to other drivers.

The additional equipment costs $2,000 per bus and is brand new in the state. Akers noted that unfortunately, there have been too many complaints of drivers not stopping for buses this year, so she and Upshur County school administrators want to remind drivers to watch out for buses and keep their precious cargo – Upshur County students – safe.

“We want to work with the public to remind them to be safe around the buses, especially when they are loading and unloading students,” Akers said. “This is such a safety concern.”

Akers distributed a flier with information reminding drivers that red lights on school buses mean ‘stop’ in all directions — even in a parking lot — and the yellow lights on a school bus mean to slow down and prepare to stop.

The flier also details school bus laws from West Virginia Code, violations of which could result in legal consequences including having your driver’s license suspended for 60 days, a fine of up to $1,000 or confinement to jail of nor more than six months for a first offense. The flier is attached below.

“We worked with the company who makes this equipment and Matheny Motors, where we purchase our buses, and the company actually came to us and asked if we would pilot this program in West Virginia,” Akers said. “That is how we got the equipment on this bus.”

Akers said the Upshur County school system is working with local law enforcement and the Upshur County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office because there have been too many people running through the stops.

Matthew Sisk, Upshur County Schools director of safety and emergency preparedness, underscored that the most important stop you will make all day is for the bus.

“We want folks to underscore that line every time and every day,” Sisk said.

“We want to educate people,” Akers reminded everyone. “We want to put this out there to the public and make everyone aware.”

There are 46 buses in the Upshur County Schools fleet and they transport about 2,000 students to and from school each day.

Upshur County bus operator Cathy Grill drives the bus with the new safety equipment. She said she can tell it is making a difference.

“I can see a difference and see more people stopping,” Grill said.

During her bus run, she is driving from 6 a.m. until approximately 6:30 p.m. with breaks during the day.

Buckhannon Police Chief Matthew Gregory said the city police department and the Upshur County school system have worked together on quite a few projects.

“The safety of our children is of our upmost priority,” Gregory said. “We will continue this partnership to make sure our children are safe.”

Stankus said getting the community behind the effort is key.

“I want to thank Akers and the folks in our transportation department for being innovative,” Stankus said. “They are always looking for ways to make our children safer, and getting the entire community in on this effort is key. All of us want to keep our children safe, so we need to educate the public. These bright lights will really help.”