Students, Drivers Honored at Pennsylvania School Bus Safety Awards

School Bus Safety Week Runs through Oct. 21

HARRISBURG, Pa., Oct. 17, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- PennDOT Secretary Barry J. Schoch, P.E. recognized 12 students for helping to communicate important school bus safety messages and honored six school bus drivers for their superior driving skills during a ceremony today to kick off National School Bus Safety Week, which runs through Oct. 21.

Governor Tom Corbett has proclaimed Oct. 17-21 as School Bus Safety Week in Pennsylvania to coincide with the national observance.

The students, in kindergarten through eighth grade, were honored for their winning entries in the 2011 School Bus Safety Poster Contest. The theme for this year's contest, "I See the Driver - The Driver Sees Me," stressed the need for students to be cautious and ensure that the driver and students see one another while loading and unloading a school bus.

"The poster contest is a unique opportunity to engage young people in safety topics while giving them a chance to explore their creativity, and have a little fun," said Schoch. "These creations are a subtle reminder not only to their fellow students, but to all of us, that following common-sense rules with school buses can save young lives."

This year's winners were chosen from more than 300 public and private school student entries. The first-place entries will be forwarded to a national competition to be judged at the end of this month.

During the ceremony, Schoch and Sgt. Robert Krol, Division Supervisor of the Pennsylvania State Police Commercial Vehicle Safety Division, also presented certificates and Governor's citations to six school bus drivers for winning the 2011 Pennsylvania School Bus Driver Safety Competition. Held each June, the competition tests school bus drivers' knowledge of safety rules and safe operation of their buses.

"You are charged with an important role," said Krol. "Parents trust you to take their children to and from school every day – and do it safely. Your presence here today is testimony to the extraordinary job you are doing, and serves as a model to all school bus drivers."

This year's third-place state winner for conventional style buses, Larry Hannon of Centennial School District in Bucks County, was also recognized for placing first overall in the International School Bus Driver Safety Competition held in July. This is Hannon's fifth, first-place win in that competition.

During the ceremony, Krol also announced that "Operation Safe Stop" will be conducted statewide Oct. 19, uniting local and state law enforcement agencies, school districts and student transportation agencies to raise awareness of the consequences of improperly passing school buses.

Police officers will be watching for motorists who violate the school bus stopping law. If possible, school bus drivers will also document any illegal passes occurring on their routes and will file reports with local police.

State law requires motorists approaching a school bus with its red lights flashing and stop arm extended, to stop at least 10 feet from the bus. Motorists approaching from all directions are required to stop. However, motorists who encounter a school bus stopping on the opposite side of a divided highway are not required to stop when lanes of the highway are clearly separated by a divider such as concrete barriers or grassy medians.

In 2010, nearly 800 motorists were convicted of violating Pennsylvania's school bus stopping law. The same year, there were 368 school bus crashes resulting in six fatalities, including two school bus drivers.  No school bus passengers were killed.

For more information about school bus safety, visit PennDOT's highway safety website, www.DriveSafePA.org and select the School Bus Safety link under the Traffic Safety Information Center. In addition, the website now offers an interactive feature illustrating Pennsylvania's school bus stopping law to help motorists learn what to do when approaching or travelling behind a school bus.  

Media contacts:
Jan McKnight, 717-787-0485
Craig Yetter, 717-705-1092

Editor's Note: A list of winners for the poster contest and driver safety competition follows:

2011 School Bus Safety Poster Contest Winners

Division 1 (Grades Kindergarten – 2)
First Place: Tabitha Forster, David Leech Elementary School, Leechburg, Armstrong County
Second Place: Rose Fevrier, Cheltenham Elementary School, Cheltenham, Montgomery County
Third Place: Eric Hays, David Leech Elementary School, Leechburg, Armstrong County

Division 2 (Grades 3-5)
First Place: Dallas Hite, Penn Cambria Middle School, Gallitzin, Cambria County
Second Place: Dazi Patel, John Adams Elementary School, Scranton, Lackawanna County
Third Place: Griffin Chappell, Cambria Elementary School, Ebensburg, Cambria County

Division 3 (Grades 6-8)
First Place: Zack Larmer, Log College Middle School, Warminster, Bucks County
Second Place: Alma Rodriguez, Upper Dauphin Area Middle School, Lykens, Dauphin County
Third Place: Melanie Martin, Log College Middle School, Warminster, Bucks County

Division 4 (Special Education)
First Place: Grace Howley, Pennell Elementary School, Aston, Delaware County
Second Place: Jeremiah Oakes, John J. Audubon School #42, Scranton, Lackawanna County  
Third Place: Ashley Ryan, Lackawanna Trail Elementary Center, Factoryville, Wyoming County  

2011 PA School Bus Driver Safety Competition Winners

Conventional Bus
First Place: Nancy Johnson, Chester County; Krapf Bus Companies
Second Place: Shannon O'Brien, Chester County; Krapf Bus Companies
Third Place: Larry Hannon, Bucks County; Centennial School District

Transit Bus

First Place: John Welsh, Montgomery County; Lower Merion School District
Second Place: Cheryl Vogelsang, Chester County; Eagle Wolfington Leasing
Third Place: John Choffel Jr., Crawford County; Girardat, LP

SOURCE Pennsylvania Department of Transportation