State Superintendent June Atkinson will hold a press conference on Wednesday, Sept. 7, at 10 a.m., at East Cary Middle School (school entrance beside school bus parking lot), 1111 SE Maynard Road, Cary, to address the importance of school bus safety and the need for students and parents to play a bigger role.
Atkinson will be joined by NC Department of Public Instruction Transportation Services Director Derek Graham, East Cary Middle School Principal Nikia Davis, NC Division of Motor Vehicles Deputy Commissioner Wayne Branch, and representatives from the NC Highway Patrol who will highlight the critical role students and parents play along with motorists in ensuring that the state’s 800,000+ students who ride school buses each day do so safely.
For the past several years, over 3,000 motorists have consistently illegally passed a stopped school bus during the annual one-day stop arm violation count. Since 1998-99, 13 students have lost their lives as a result.
To help prevent this tragedy, the majority of school districts have at least two stop arm cameras installed on school buses. State law specifically authorizes the use of these cameras to be used by law enforcement and district attorneys to prosecute motorists who break the law.
For more information about this event, please contact the NCDPI Communications division at 919.807.3450.
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