Written By Jan Sims
DELAWARE - Parents at Our Lady of Lourdes elementary school in Delaware have launched a powerful new school bus safety campaign.
“The law is clear, vehicles need to stop on both sides of the road when a school bus stops with flashing lights and the stop arm is out – failure to stop can be catastrophic,” says Lauren Preston, a member of the school parent council and an organizer of the campaign. “Those couple minutes of impatience can change your life and that family’s life forever,” adds Preston.
The campaign was officially launched on December 1st, almost a year from the date of the tragic death of 7-year-old Dante Caranci, a student at the school. Dante died after he was hit getting off the bus December 16th on Longwoods Rd. near Lambeth.
The campaign is called No Excuses. It includes a number of public awareness materials such as billboards, rink boards, social media graphics and print advertisements. The focus is on reinforcing the rule that when a school bus stops with flashing lights, every driver must stop no matter which direction they are coming from. “We have always advocated for school bus awareness and we are now ramping it up to force change in driver behaviour”, says committee Chair Andrea Jones. “We all share the road, and we all share the responsibility to keep children safe. When those red lights flash, you stop. There are no excuses – we should be holding each other accountable,” adds Jones.
The campaign materials are being made available to schools, municipalities, businesses and residents. People are urged to share the campaign material in their community and educate others about bus safety laws.
