Deputies see trend of drivers shrugging off school bus safety

HENDERSON COUNTY, Tenn. — Deputies say they’re seeing a trend with drivers running stops signs and illegally passing school buses.

WBBJ 7 Eyewitness News reporter Victoria Taylor took a ride Friday morning with Henderson County Deputy Amber Robertson in an unmarked car. The goal was to follow as many school buses as possible on their morning routes.

“You see a marked car, you’re going to slow down and mind your Ps and Qs, but this way we are getting everyone in their natural setting,” Deputy Robertson said.

Sheriff Brian Duke says he’s seen a dangerous trend from some county drivers — illegally passing school buses at a complete stop with the sign extended.

With our cameras rolling non-stop, we did not catch any drivers breaking the law.

“That’s not to say everybody needs to say it’s all right now. We were still going to be vigilant and we are still going to be watching, so hopefully everybody knows we do have the most precious cargo on those buses,” Robertson said.

Deputies say they tend to see the most violations on Mondays when drivers may be running a few minutes late.

Sheriff Duke says it’s critical for drivers to realize that if they are on a four-lane road without a grass median separating lanes of traffic — such as Parkers Crossroads — then everyone has to stop if a bus is picking up a student.

“There’s nieces, nephews, sons and daughters, and everyone needs to be safe,” Robertson said.

If violators had been spotted during our ride-along, Deputy Robertson says she would have pulled them over and issued a citation warning.