Warning given for Lowcountry drivers to stop passing school buses with stop sign out

BEAUFORT COUNTY, S.C. (WTOC) - Law enforcement in the Lowcountry says they are having issues with school buses. Specifically, drivers passing by school buses when their stop sign is out.

“Whenever you see us, no matter where we are, if we are picking up a child and those red lights are going, please stop,” Beaufort County school bus driver Maurice Brown said.

Brown has been a school bus driver for over two decades. He says recently, drivers in the Bluffton area are disregarding school bus stop signs.

“They act like the school bus doesn’t even exist and don’t even stop for the stop bar,” Brown said.

Which can put kids in danger.

“The life of a child could depend on you stopping,” he said.

The school district says they know it’s an issue in areas like Bluffton.

“I think right now in this area here, with the growth, it’s higher than some of our other areas,” Director of Transportation Eldridge Black said.

The school system hopes getting the word out will put a stop to it.

“The messages that we would like to send to them is be mindful that they are little ones that have to cross the street. When you disobey the law, it puts students in harm’s way,” Black said.

Bus drivers do what they can to identify cars when they pass by illegally.

“We try to get as much information of that vehicle as we can, but the rate of speed sometimes, we may just be able to say it was a red car,” Brown said.

To combat the issue, the district brings state troopers to problem areas.

“The state highway patrol has done a great job and will respond when we reach out to them. They’ll send a car out to that area if we get enough complaints,” Black said.

Despite these precautions, it’s still an issue in Beaufort County. And the director of transportation says it’s one thing he just can’t believe.

“I’m just surprised. You know it’s simple. We need to obey the law when it comes to things like that,” Black said.

The district also says that even though they have cameras inside the bus watching the students, now there are no cameras on the stop signs. Which makes it harder to identify cars that break the law. They are hoping to change that soon.

Copyright 2019 WTOC. All rights reserved.