WINNEBAGO COUNTY — A student boarding a school bus in rural Winnebago County was nearly hit Jan. 6 by a car that lost control in slippery conditions.
Video of the incident has been circulating on social media, and the Winnebago County Sheriff’s Office posted it Thursday after the driver of the car was finally located.
Home surveillance video shows a student approaching the school bus as it arrived at the stop.
But just as the student began stepping onto the bus, a car slid past it on the right hand side, nearly hitting the student.
The student was uninjured in the incident, and the sheriff’s office says the driver has been identified and action has been taken.
The sheriff’s office says they are sharing the video to remind everyone about safety around school buses, particularly during adverse weather conditions.
Extra stopping time and distance as well as reducing speed are all crucial during winter weather events, and even more so around school buses during the winter.
According to the Sheriff’s Office, drivers must stop on the street or highway 20 feet or more from any school bus that has stopped and is flashing red warning lights.
- This applies both to vehicles approaching from the rear and from the opposing lanes.
- All lanes of traffic must stop for the school bus, except in opposing lanes if the highway is divided with a center median.
- No vehicle may proceed until the bus resumes motion and has turned off the red warning lights.
- The stop arm on the bus is an added communication to other drivers, but the lack of an extended stop arm is not a reason to pass a bus whose red lights are flashing.
- In some urban areas buses will signal with yellow lights, or use red lights only in some parts of town.
Motorists should observe school buses carefully for either the “pass cautiously” yellow light signal or the required full stop when a bus is flashing red lights.
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