State Sen. Vernon Boozer of north Baltimore County has again introduced legislation in the General Assembly that would drastically alter the county school system's method of picking up and dropping off students at school bus stops. Though well-meaning, the senator's bill could put children at greater risk of physical harm.
Baltimore County's school bus policy has been virtually unchanged since the late 1950s. Students must be standing and waiting at their stop before the bus arrives. When they are dropped off later in the day, they must stand at the stop until the bus has pulled away. Senator Boozer's measure would stipulate that whenever children have to cross a road to board or leave a bus, they would move when waved across by the bus driver, under the "protection" of the vehicle's flashing lights.
The hazard of this method is that it assumes motorists will obey the flashing lights and stop. As county police and school officials hasten to point out, that's a dangerous assumption. They note with alarm that since last September, county bus drivers have reported 1,200 "fly-bys" -- instances in which motorists have sailed right past idling buses, violating the law that requires them to stop.
County police also frown on hand signals to pedestrians. Indeed, local officers are trained to guide pedestrians with only oral commands. It's not hard to imagine children, particularly younger ones, misconstruing a driver's hand motions and stepping into harm's way. Further risk results from the county's proximity to Baltimore City, which is exempt from the state law mandating that drivers must stop for buses picking up or discharging students. (A proposal in the current General Assembly aims to remedy that sorry situation.)
Opponents of Baltimore County's long-standing school bus policy often say that the Boozer-proposed method is in place throughout most of Maryland and most of the nation. Yet that is not reason enough to make a change. Neither method has been found to be clearly better than the other. No method can guarantee total safety for bus riders. The Boozer bill is flawed in that it relies, erringly, on proper behavior by motorists.
Baltimore County can make sure its bus drivers are well-trained and competent. It can teach students the right way to cross streets. But no one can control how the public drives. That is the best reason for continuing the county's present school bus policy -- and stopping Senator Boozer's bill in its tracks.