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Central Florida officials urge drivers to go slow, save a life this school year

Bus driver Pamela Johnson practices her route.
Danielle Prieur
Bus driver Pamela Johnson practices her route.

As Central Florida kids head back to school Monday, officials are reminding students to walk, bike, and drive safely, and for the adults that share the roads with them to be vigilant.

Several local students have died after being struck by cars in what were deemed preventable fatalities. A Polk County high school student was killed on his e-bike last July. A few months before that, an Orange County high school student was killed walking to school. An elementary student in Orange County was killed after being run over by a bus at the start of last school year.

Aboard her Orange County Schools bus, a few days before the start of the school year, driver Pamela Johnson says that’s why she’s extra careful as she practices her route.

She’s seen some unsafe behaviors by people on the road in her time as a bus driver in the district over the last 32 years.

“You need to stop, slow down. You see these yellow lights, red lights? Hey, stop, because for safety, you don't want to hit someone's child,” said Johnson.

Central Florida no longer holds the number one spot for pedestrian fatalities around the country, according to the nonprofit Smart Growth America’s yearly rankings. But the Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford metro area is still in the top twenty (it’s now #18) most unsafe metro areas for walkers and bikers in the country.

Empty bus seats on Pamela Johnson's bus.
Danielle Prieur
Empty bus seats on Pamela Johnson's bus.

FDOT’s Loreen Bobo said there are risks to students walking or biking to school, or in their local community which is why it’s crucial for parents and adults to talk about – and practice – road safety with kids early.

“From the moment you turn that car seat around, they're starting to learn about how to be good transportation users,” said Bobo.

A few simple reminders can keep kids safe: put your phone away when walking, take the earbuds out, look before you bike or walk across a road or intersection, she said.

And as a mom of two boys, she said it is all about modeling that good behavior as a parent or adult in their lives.

“Making sure we wear our seatbelt every time, if I'm going to walk down my neighborhood street, I'm going to put my cell phone in my pocket so that my son knows that, he should also be doing the same. Wearing our bicycle helmet every single time, stopping before we go to cross the road just to make sure that everybody has stopped, making eye contact with the driver,” said Bobo.

Bobo remembers the time her eldest, who will soon be a freshman in high school, came home from school, and told her he was almost hit by a car walking off the bus. It was the safety training that she gave him that saved his life.

“I remember about a week into school, he was in sixth grade, so he'd only been a week of walking to the bus by himself. And he comes home and he says, ‘Mom, a car passed the bus today, and if I wasn't paying attention, that car would have hit me,’ and this was in our neighborhood where it’s 25 mph, and that scared me,” said Bobo. “You know, it's a possibility, and thankfully he recognized that, ‘Okay, that's why my mom told me to put my phone in my pocket and pay attention and that type of thing,’ it’s a big world out there.”

Rules of the bus on Pamela Johnson’s bus.
Danielle Prieur
Rules of the bus on Pamela Johnson’s bus.

As for the adult and young drivers around students, AAA’s Mark Jenkins is urging drivers to slow down near school zones, stop for buses and kids getting off the bus, and to drive undistracted.

A number of Central Florida students were also involved in deadly car crashes at the end of the last school year. Orange County high schoolers were killed in two high-speed car crashes first in March, and then again in April last year.

A Florida Teen Safe Driving Coalition report found Orange County had the most serious car crashes involving teens in the state.

“Make sure that you're putting your cell phone down, that you're constantly scanning the road, particularly during this time of year, when there are going to be a lot of pedestrians, adults, but also children. We just have to be ready to stop at a moment's notice, and that means staying alert,” said Jenkins.

Jenkins said the most important thing for young and old drivers alike to do is simply to drive at or below the speed limit. It saves the lives of people in and outside of cars when there’s an accident.

“We actually just released a campaign called Crashes Hit Different When They Happen To You. So whether that's driving distracted, whether that's speeding, going just 10 mph over the speed limit, or driving impaired or just simply not wearing your seatbelt, the speed, it definitely is one of the top four reasons for fatal crashes, and that decreases reaction time and dramatically increases the severity of crashes,” said Jenkins. “And if we're talking about super speeders, people who are going 100 mph or over if they collide with somebody. I mean, the consequences of that crash are going to be far more significant than a crash at 30 mph. Even 50 mph would be bad enough.”

A new super speeder law, targeting speeders who go 50 mph or more above the limit, and a law requiring teens to take a driver’s ed course before getting their permit, are aimed at keeping Floridians, including young people, safer on the roads.

An Orange County Schools bus sits in the Pine Hills facility.
Danielle Prieur
An Orange County Schools bus sits in the Pine Hills facility.

On top of these new laws, speed cameras are now legal in Florida school zones. The cameras snap pictures of cars as they drive by, and generate tickets for anyone going 10 mph over the speed limit in a school zone.

So far, they’ve been rolled out in school zones in Osceola County, Palm Bay, Eustis, Ocoee, St. Cloud, Mount Dora, and Leesburg in Central Florida. Orlando has also approved the cameras.

Along with these measures, local police and sheriffs will increase patrols around schools, and they’ll be looking for anyone speeding or texting.

Speeding in a school zone in Florida is a moving violation which can result in at least 3 points on your license, and fines ranging from $50 to over $500 dollars. Using a handheld device to text or make phone calls in a school zone is also a moving violation, which can result in 3 points on your license and a $60 fine.

Although Orange County Public Schools has almost no teacher vacancies this year, it is still looking to hire 150 to 200 bus drivers.

For now bus drivers like Pamela Johnson will have to double up on routes.

Drivers will drop off one group of high schoolers by 6:30 a.m., then go back out to get a second group and drop them off before the start of school. This won’t just impact the older students but the younger ones, as drivers might be late by 30 to 40 minutes to pick up elementary and middle school students.

The district is encouraging those interested in the positions to apply on its website.

Danielle Prieur covers education in Central Florida.
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