Bus stop safety hits fever pitch

Nate Hulings, Peninsula Gateway

Read Brennor Beck’s shirt and you’ll know where he stands on the issue of bus safety: It’s big, It’s yellow, It has flashing lights, what part didn’t you see?

Beck has been a full-time bus driver for the Peninsula School District for the past five years. During that time of driving children to and from school, Beck said he can’t even begin to count the number of times that vehicles have failed to stop for the red flashing lights and stop paddle on his bus.

“We’re not talking about a once-in-a-while event,” he said. “It’s a major problem.”

Beck said it happens daily, and he’s seen just about every type of illegal passing imaginable.

From commercial trucks passing well over the posted speed limit, to drivers passing on the right of a bus. Sometimes drivers even wave as they blow through the stop sign, he said.

And while bus stop laws can be confusing, depending on the number of lanes and whether or not there’s a median, Beck said there’s no excuse for some of the negligent driving he’s seen.

Some stops are worse than others, Beck said. On his Soundview Drive route, he said he often witnesses illegal passing at all five stops.

Beck said his main goal is to keep children safe and educate the community about the dangers, and possible citations, that come with bus safety. Those ideals are some of the same reasons why Washington state provides bus drivers with the authority to report violators.

Failing to heed the warning of A bus’ flashing lights and stop paddle can land drivers a $394 ticket, but that’s only if they are caught in the act.

However, statistics released by the Gig Harbor Police Department show that none of the 12 reports filed by bus drivers since 2006 have led to any written citations.

In the past two years, Gig Harbor police have stopped and issued two citations for school bus stop violations. Both occurred on Soundview Drive, according to police records.

By comparison, there have been 72 violations reported by bus drivers in the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department jurisdiction since 2006, Sgt. Brian Ward said. Of those reports, 59 were followed up with a warning letter to the registered owner of the vehicle, and 13 had incorrect license numbers, so deputies weren’t able to contact the alleged violator, Ward said.

At press time, the sheriff’s department didn’t have information regarding the number of citations that have been written for bus stop violations.

Beck said the lack of citations is one of the reasons why many bus drivers don’t report offenses more often.

Beck recently approached Gig Harbor Police Chief Mike Davis about both the noted number of lawbreakers and his perception of the lack of enforcement. The two discussed bus safety, and Davis said he came away with a different perspective.

“If he wouldn’t have come to me, I wouldn’t have known (about the number of illegal passings),” Davis said.

A problem with using bus driver reports as part of an investigation is that they tend to be incomplete, Davis said. If bus drivers only get a license plate number and driver identification, officers can make a follow-up call to remind and caution those individuals.

But they can’t write a ticket.

“We have to witness it to write a citation,” Davis said.

And while Beck admitted it’s not easy to grab identification while he safely operates a bus full of 80 children, he wants to make sure local law enforcement officers know there’s a problem.

They seem to be listening.

Since the conversation with Beck, Davis said he has given his officers an order to watch for it, because it’s a problem.

“We are very, very focused that kids are safe from vehicular traffic,” Davis said.

An officer in the department is put in charge of following up on the submitted documents. But with the new directive, Davis said he’ll be encouraging the officer to cite when significant evidence is provided.

Davis also is planning to look into securing grant funding to put officers on select “trouble” routes.

Beck doesn’t plan to stop in Gig Harbor. Next on his list is the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department, and he may even advocate for stricter bus stop violation laws.

“We’ve got a problem, folks,” he said.