On Friday, August 02, 2019 the Vanderburgh County Sheriff’s Office held a press conference at the Evansville-Vanderburgh School Corporation bus garage in order to announce the new SAVE program.
Next week Vanderburgh County students will be returning to school for the 2019-2020 school year. The Sheriff’s Office, Evansville Police Department and EVSC School Police will be stepping up traffic enforcement around area schools and bus routes to help make sure this school year gets off to a safe start.
New for this year is a program created by the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute (ICJI) to help combat school bus stop arm violations. The SAVE program, which stands for Stop Arm Violation Enforcement, is designed to protect transportation routes to and from school by increasing enforcement of Indiana’s school bus stop arm laws.
Indiana recently increased the penalty for recklessly disregarding a school bus stop arm from a Class B Misdemeanor to a Class A Misdemeanor. The offense becomes a Level 6 Felony if a child or other person is injured as a result.
Beginning on August 07, deputies and officers will be following school buses in both marked and unmarked vehicles looking for violations of Indiana’s school bus stop arm laws. Drivers who fail to pay attention and stop for a school bus stop arm will be cited for Disregarding a School Bus Stop Arm as a Class A Infraction. Drivers who intentionally drive around a stopped school bus with an extended stop arm face a more severe penalty and may be charged with a Class A Misdemeanor.
The beginning of school will result in a large number of buses on the road, children getting on and off those buses, new bus stop locations, new bus routes, congestion in and around the schools, new student drivers and many other factors to be aware of as our kids return to the classroom.
Sheriff Wedding explained, “Our deputies will be patrolling all of our county school zones and bus routes this year. Law enforcement officers throughout the city and county will be watching for unsafe driving behavior, checking for speed violations in school zones, monitoring bus routes for safety issues and enforcing school bus stop arm violations.â€
At some school locations, sheriff’s deputies will be assisting school personnel with traffic direction in and out of the school parking lots and drop off zones. The Vanderburgh County Highway Department has placed large school zone warning signs near schools to help warn drivers.
Evansville-Vanderburgh School Corporation schools, Corpus Christi School and St. Joseph School will begin their first day on Wednesday, August 07, 2019. Resurrection Catholic School begins on Thursday, August 08, 2019.
Tips For Back To School Safety:
- If bus service is available, please utilize it.
- Please take pictures of your new student before you get to the school. Do not park in the drop-off zones of any of the schools to take your child into class.
- Utilize the proper restraint systems in your vehicle.
- Keep your speed to a minimum and pay extra attention in and around school zones and near school bus loading areas.
- When a school bus stops and a red stop arm or flashing red lights appear, children are boarding or exiting the bus. Be on the lookout for children crossing the street even after the bus has moved on.
- Please, no cell phone use in the school zones while operating a vehicle and no texting at any time while operating a vehicle.
- Encourage children getting on and off school buses to be very mindful of surrounding traffic, because the traffic may not be watching for them.
- Give yourself plenty of time. Do not let the frustration of running late compromise the good driving decisions you make.
- Please call 911 to report dangerous driving situations.
Footnote: The SAVE program is made possible by funding provided by the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute (ICJI) through a grant from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
