Fairbanks police remind drivers about school bus laws

FAIRBANKS, Alaska (KTUU/KTVF) - School has been in session for the Fairbanks North Star Borough School District for two months, and the Fairbanks Police Department is reminding drivers how to interact with school buses on the roads.

FPD Corp. Gray Harrison said he has seen drivers, especially along College Road, trying to beat the yellow flashing lights.

“When the yellow flashing lights are on with the school bus, the max you can go by regulation is actually 20 mph, so it’s best to just go and start slowing down looking for those kids, and then you want to stop.”

Furthermore, if the school bus is traveling on a three- or four-lane road in which the different directions are not separated by a median, traffic going in both directions must stop for a school bus when it is dropping kids off.

“If it’s separated — like the Johansen Expressway, there’s a median of any type where the roads are separated — the other lane of travel, not with the school bus, the flow of traffic, they can continue,” Harrison explained. “Anybody that’s still following the school bus, say if they do stop on a highway or something like that and they’re behind them, they have to stop.”

The regulations, he said, are there to keep everyone, including children getting on and off the bus, safe.

“They’re there to help the school bus driver because [the driver] can’t always be everywhere looking everywhere at all times. They got a school bus full of kids, so these laws just help make sure everybody’s safe at the end of the day,” Harrison said.

The corporal called these mistakes from drivers an ongoing issue throughout the school year.

“We’re trying to get extra patrols out there, educate drivers and just let them know what’s going on, but you know, in some cases we can cite and enforce the law as needed,” he explained.

Passing a school bus that has its red flashing lights on, according to Harrison, is a class B misdemeanor in the State of Alaska, punishable by up to a $2,000 fine or 90 days in jail.

“If you’re the owner of a vehicle but you’re not driving, you can actually still receive a citation. It’s just a fine, but you can be fined due to that driver’s actions,” he said. “If you pass a school bus going faster than 20 mph when the lights are yellow, that’s a $75 fine and two points on your license.”

Harrison recommends that drivers around school buses be aware of others on the road and make eye contact with bus drivers when possible to make sure it is safe to proceed.

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