Buses ready to roll

Hanover School Division is ready for it's 83 buses to roll on highways and roads in the Southeast as the division welcomes students back to school.  Director of Transportation Ray Fast would like to remind motorists "Today is the first day of school and there are going to be a lot of bright yellow buses out there and we ask the public to be aware of them.  Motorists are required to stop in both directions when  approaching a stopped school bus with it's upper red lights flashing and stop arm extended.  There is an exception to that if the highway is separated by a median, then the traffic coming from the opposite direction is not required to stop."

Fast says drivers just need to use common sense.  "The school bus is big, it's bright yellow and very visible.  Motorists should be aware we are transporting students.  This bus can stop anywhere, anytime and they should be prepared for that.  Let's have a safe year."

He adds while most busses start transporting students on this first day of school there is a delayed start for some students.  "Noon kindergarten busing will be starting on September 13.  That's the first day that all the noon hour transported kindergarten students and busses will be out there."  Those students are all taking part in a staggered start to school which allows teachers to get to better know their students on a one on one basis.

Fast says there is a lot of good information for bus students and parents in the new Hanover School calendar.  "Everyone will have the opportunity to receive a calendar that has a lot of information on it about school bus safety, bus rules, what we ask and what we recommend.  Any other information such as school bus delays, if we have a bus that is going to be running behind schedule of ten minutes or more, is posted on our website.  There is also information about Steinbach urban busing, all our bus routes, stops and bus times posted on the webpage."