August 26, 2016 at 3:28 p.m.
Local school buses now equipped with amber lights
Students learn safety during open house
Local school buses now equipped with amber lights
By Kayla Thomason-
"Up until Aug. 15 you couldn't run (the amber lights). Most of the newer buses came with them but they weren't active or we would replace them with red lenses, and as of Aug. 15 the law went into place for the use of amber lights," said Kim Weyers, manager of Bowen's Bus Service.
The amber lights - which will be activated up to 300 feet before the bus stops - give motorists an early warning of the bus driver's intentions.
"That's to give traffic the warning 'hey, this bus is going to be picking up students, we will be coming to a stop' and part of that amber light system includes stickers on the back of the buses that say 'stop on flashing red,'" Weyers said.
Wisconsin was the last state to put the amber lights into effect.
Any buses older than 2005 were grandfathered in, but Bowen's keeps buses for only eight years, Weyers said.
Old buses had to have the inside lights changed from red to amber lenses and a new button was installed on the panel.
"On the panel, the driver needs to be able to see that the amber lights are on and that the red lights are on so we needed to put an extra switch in that blinks amber to let the driver know the amber light is blinking and then also the red light," she said.
She thinks the amber lights are a good idea.
"Any time you can add that extra warning or that extra distance to help give people time 'Oh, I'm seeing lights, I've got to slow down,' I believe it helps, especially on the highways because 100 feet, when somebody's going 55 (mph) that's not a lot," Weyer said. "So being able to put those lights on at 300 feet and give that much more warning I think is going to make a world of difference."
Early next year the state will conduct a regarding the new light system to see if it has had an impact.
At the open house, stations were set up to talk about the new lighting system, bus safety and behavior, and bus evacuations. A bus was set up for children to practice emergency exiting and the Newbold Fire Department was on scene with a smoke machine so the children could get a feel of what it could be like in an actual emergency situation.
They also had raffles to make it a fun event for children and adults.
"We like to make it fun and we've had super support from local businesses to help pull that off because they care about the kids learning about bus safety as much as we do," Weyer said. "Without that kind of support from local businesses in the community we probably wouldn't be able to do as much as we do for our open house and we really appreciate that."
The open house is a free event for the community but there is no requirement that children attend.
Bowen's will also visit schools to go over this information with students.
"I think it's really awesome that the kids get an opportunity to refresh and remind them what's going on," said Wilma Mullins, mother.
Her son, Joey Mullins, liked the event, too.
"It's cool, I mean you get to come here and see what's going on and what bus you're riding," he said.
Eliza Rudis, a second grader, was the driver's helper in the smoke bus. She also learned how to properly evacuate the bus in an emergency situation.
"You just walk carefully, get on your butt and slide off," she said.
Eliza's mother, Jenny Rudis, was grateful for the safety briefing.
"It's nice because then the girls can get to know their bus driver and they get to learn - especially our youngest, since it's her first year being in school that she'll get to learn what it's like to get on a bus, where you need to stand and if there is an emergency what you need to do," she said.
She was also interested to learn about the amber lights.
"It'll be interesting when I see (the amber lights) on the road how different it is and how noticeable it is," Rudis said. "I'm excited to see it on the road."
Douglas Scheel, bus driver, has heard positive comments about the new lights.
"(The participants) like the fact that they'll be able to see (the amber lights) up to 300 feet ahead of time before their stop," he said.
His co-worker has worked for several bus companies and doesn't recall any of them holding an event like this.
"This is the only one that I know of who does this," said Jerry Peterson, bus driver. "It's a big deal for people to be able to come and let their kids look at the buses. If they have questions they can ask. It's nice, it's just something you don't see every day.
Kayla Breese may be reached at kayla @rivernewsonline.com.
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