More Pitkin County motorists driving too closely to school buses, officials say
Pitkin County drivers pass stopped school buses with increasing frequency, posing danger to children.
Since Aug. 26, Aspen School District (ASD) Transportation recorded 19 instances in which motorists drove past loading or unloading school buses — nearly a 2,000% increase from what they recorded the first eight weeks of the 2023/24 school year.
Colorado law requires vehicles to stop at least 20 feet from a school bus on both sides of the street, for as long as the bus is stopped, loading, or unloading.
“I don’t think anyone wants to kill or run over a child, right?” ASD parent Lindsey Port said. “These children deserve safe access to board a bus.”
At her local stop, 70 Medicine Bow off Brush Creek Road, she said she’s consistently seen other parents drop their children off before driving past the stopped school bus while children are still loading.
“The other day, a woman nearly ran my kids over,” Port said. “Because she was already driving away when she shouldn’t have been.”
Violations don’t just happen on Brush Creek Road, said Brush Creek Metropolitan District Manager Rick Stevens.
“I see the same thing going on at bus stops all over the place,” he said.
Reghan Mahaffey, ASD director of transportation, said she thinks the increase in vehicle violations could be attributed to Aspen elementary, middle, and high schools changing their schedule to all start at the same time for the first time in five years.
All parents drop off and pick up their children at the same time every day, she said.
Longer commute times for people living farther away every year contribute to more traffic and could affect the increase in number of violations, she added.
“You now have three different schools and a lot of kids all being transported at the same time, which slows down the commute,” she said. “You just get a little bit more aggressive drivers on the roadway.”
Violators could face consequences if charged by the police, including a mandatory court appearance, six points on the violator’s license, a $300 fine, community service, and if repeated, potential jail time.
Port wants to fix the problem before it gets worse, saying “no one’s supposed to be driving while that bus has its lights flashing.”
“We have this really dire situation where I want to try to fix the problem before a child gets hit,” she said.
Stevens said they must take a multifaceted approach to keep drivers from endangering children. In the case of 70 Medicine Bow, he suggested their first priority should be to educate the public. They could also make the stop safer by building a larger bus pull-off with crosswalk markings for pedestrian access and increase enforcement.
“From our point of view, it’s education, engineering, and enforcement,” he said. “And sometimes, it’ll have to happen at the same time just to solve the problem.”
Snowmass Police Chief Brian Olson said they’ve set out variable message signs at either entrance to the town warning of school bus stops. He also encourages drivers to practice increased awareness when school buses stop to load or unload.
“I like to tell people that the bus should have a 360-degree barrier around it,” he said. “Because kids can come running from any direction.”
Skyler Stark-Ragsdale can be reached at 970-429-9152 or email him at sstark-ragsdale@aspentimes.com.
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