NOLENSVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — The Nolensville Police Department and Williamson County Schools are partnering for a safety initiative focused on student safety while riding school buses. Officers are now riding school buses to lookout for traffic violations by drivers. Sgt. Matthew Neal said the idea sparked from concerns of bus drivers.
"We're really trying to focus on those hot spots of where people are always running the stop signs," he said.
Neal has already tagged along on a route a couple of times since the school year started. Yes, he has seen drivers run stop signs.
"Again, this isn't everybody. This is, it's usually a small minority. There may be a hundred cars go by and maybe five of them don't stop, but one incident could happen from any of those five, that could be deadly."
Kenny Hardaway is the President of the Tennessee Association of Pupil Transportation. He is currently a Director of Transportation for a Middle Tennessee school district, and still drives buses daily, so he knows what it is like out there on the roads. He said he always has to think one step ahead.
"We're always constantly watching to see, you know, what is the motorist going to do?
Are they if they're going to run the stop sign?"
Hardaway explains the benefits that can come from an officer observing driver behaviors from a school bus.
"One, it puts eyes on on the bus as far as catching those violators and stuff like that. They can radio to the cars to say, 'Hey, vehicle so and so did it,' but it gives the children or the students the opportunity to see them working as far as catching those folks."
Hardaway said even more than seeing someone face consequences for dangerous driving decisions, what school bus drivers really want to see, is violators learn from their mistakes.
"It's just an educational moment for them," he said. "Whether they get a ticket or a warning or or just a conversation. I would hope that it brings more awareness to the individuals driving down the roadway to say, you know what, I do need to pay more attention."
Sgt. Neal said it's not just about giving out tickets, it's more about changing potentially dangerous driving behaviors.
"I know it's busy. We're going to work. We're all in a hurry, but to stay off your phone, look out for the school buses and you'll eventually get to work. It's not worth hurting someone or getting a ticket or it's just not worth it."
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