PennDOT, Ohio Association Present School Bus Safety Awards; Poster Contest, Safety Competition Winners Honored; Entered in NAPT's National Contest

HARRISBURG, Pa., Oct. 17 /PRNewswire/ -- Twelve Pennsylvania students and six school bus drivers are being honored and recognized during the kickoff of National School Bus Safety Week.

Pennsylvania's 1st place winner Jessica Hillegas, J.M. Hill Elementary of East Stroudsburg, Penn., won in Division 1.

The students, from schools in Monroe, Philadelphia , Lebanon , Berks and Lycoming cunties, were honored by PennDOT today for their winning entries in the 2005 School Bus Safety Poster Contest.

Six school bus drivers, from Bucks, Chester , Crawford , Delaware and Perry counties, won the 2005 Pennsylvania School Bus Driver Safety Competition.

Students from across the state were asked to craft poster entries using the "I See the Driver, The Driver Sees Me" theme, which reinforces the need for students getting on and off school buses to be aware when crossing the street.

Representatives from the Pennsylvania Association of School Business Officials

The Ohio Association for Pupil Transportation and the Ohio School Bus Mechanics Association sponsored the Safety Week Poster Contest in Ohio. Altogether 235 entries from all parts of the state were submitted. Shown above is the first place winner in the Division II category by Justice Hatton of Fairfield Local SD in Leesburgh, Ohio. All entrants received a certificate of recognition for their efforts and participation. [PDF]

Transportation Committee, the Pennsylvania School Bus Association, the Pupil Transportation Association of Pennsylvania and the Pennsylvania State Police attended today's ceremony.

"Today's award ceremony is a great event for a very serious, safety issue," said Cpt. William R. Fraley, director of the state police's safety program division. "People need to know that when they do not obey the School Bus Stopping Law, they are putting our children in harm's way."

Pennsylvania 's School Bus Stopping Law requires motorists to stop at least 10 feet away from school buses that have their red lights flashing and stop arm extended. Motorists must stop when they are behind the bus, meeting the bus or approaching an intersection where a bus is stopped. Motorists following or traveling beside a school bus must also stop until the red lights have stopped flashing, the stop arm is withdrawn and all children have reached safety. If physical barriers such as grassy medians, guide rails or concrete median barriers separate oncoming traffic from the bus, motorists in the opposing lanes may proceed without stopping.

Twelve students ranging from kindergarten through eighth grade received an award for placing first, second or third in the 2005 School Bus Safety Poster Contest. Posters are put into one of four divisions, which are determined by grade level.

"The poster contest is a creative way to help children learn and remind all of us about the importance of school bus safety," said Janet Dolan, acting director for PennDOT's Bureau of Driver Licensing. "It's great to see students involved in such an important issue."

Each year, PennDOT coordinates a poster contest and invites entries from public and private schools statewide. More than 400 entries were received this year. Pennsylvania 's first-place entries will be forwarded to the national competition to be judged in November.

Fraley and Dolan also presented certificates to six school bus drivers for winning the 2005 Pennsylvania School Bus Driver Safety Competition and commended their dedication and commitment to providing quality services.

As part of National School Bus Safety Week, which runs from Oct. 16-22, 2005 , Fraley announced at today's event that "Operation Safe Stop" will be conducted on Oct. 19. "Operation Safe Stop" is held in conjunction with local and state police departments, school districts and pupil transportation providers to raise public awareness about the consequences of illegal school bus passes and reduce their occurrence.