• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

PennDOT Presents School Bus Safety Awards; Poster Contest, Safety Competition Winners Honored

Posted on: Monday, 16 October 2006, 12:01 CDT

HARRISBURG, Pa., Oct. 16 /PRNewswire/ -- Eleven Pennsylvania students and six school bus drivers were recognized by PennDOT today during a ceremony to kick off National School Bus Safety Week.

The students, from schools in Allegheny, Crawford, Monroe, Montgomery and Philadelphia counties, were honored for their winning entries in the 2006 School Bus Safety Poster Contest.

Six school bus drivers from Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Fayette and Perry counties were honored for winning the 2006 Pennsylvania School Bus Driver Safety Competition.

Students were asked to design posters with the theme of "Be Aware! Cross With Care," stressing the need for students to be cautious when crossing a street.

Representatives from the Pennsylvania Association of School Business Officials Transportation Committee, the Pennsylvania School Bus Association, the Pupil Transportation Association of Pennsylvania and the Pennsylvania State Police attended today's event.

"This awards ceremony, in conjunction with National School Bus Safety Week, is a great way to raise public awareness of a very serious safety issue," said Lt. Steven R. Junkin, acting director of the Safety Program Division with the Pennsylvania State Police. "People must realize that when they do not obey Pennsylvania's school bus stopping law, they are putting our children in harm's way, and the penalties for the conviction of such offenses are steep."

State 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or traveling alongside a school bus must also stop until the red lights have stopped flashing, the stop arm is withdrawn, and all children have reached safety.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.

Eleven students from kindergarten through eighth grade received an award for placing first, second or third in the 2006 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, director of PennDOT's Bureau of Driver Licensing. "It's great to see students doing their part to help fellow students understand they must keep alert at all times when crossing the street after getting on and off school buses."

Each year, PennDOT coordinates a poster contest and invites entries from public and private schools statewide. Nearly 300 entries were received this year. Pennsylvania's first-place entries will be forwarded to the national competition to be judged in November.

Junkin and Dolan also presented certificates and Governor's citations to six school bus drivers for winning the 2006 Pennsylvania School Bus Driver Safety Competition and commended their dedication and commitment to providing quality services. The competition in late June tested school bus drivers' knowledge of school bus safety rules and safety skills behind the wheel.

As part of National School Bus Safety Week, which runs from Oct. 15-21, Junkin announced "Operation Safe Stop" will be conducted Oct. 18. "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 improper passing of school buses and reduce occurrences.

EDITOR'S NOTE: A list of winners for the School Bus Safety Poster contest and School Bus Driver Safety Competition follows:

2006 PA School Bus Safety Poster Contest Winners Division 1 (Kindergarten - 2nd Grades) 1st Tricia DeSouza Greenfield School Philadelphia School District Philadelphia County 2nd Joie Feng Hosack Elementary School North Allegheny School District Allegheny County 3rd Adriana Strugar J.M. Hill Elementary School East Stroudsburg School District Monroe County Division 2 (3rd - 5th Grades) 1st Courtney Pugh J.M. Hill Elementary School East Stroudsburg School District Monroe County 2nd Mercedes Marquez J.M. Hill Elementary School East Stroudsburg School District Monroe County 3rd Evelyne Wienna Greenfield School Philadelphia School District Philadelphia County Division 3 (6th - 8th Grades) 1st Bryan Irving Lingelbach Elementary School Philadelphia School District Philadelphia County 2nd Corrie Purvis Sandy Run Middle School Upper Dublin School District Montgomery County 3rd Erin Black Alice Schafer Elementary School Conneaut School District Crawford County Division 4 (Special Education) 1st Diana Vega J.M. Hill Elementary School East Stroudsburg School District Monroe County 2nd Zachary Ryan J.M. Hill Elementary School East Stroudsburg School District Monroe County 2006 PA School Bus Driver Safety Competition Winners Conventional Bus 1st George Soverns Jr., Rittenhouse Bus Lines in Smock, Fayette County 2nd Larry Hannon, Centennial School District in Warminster, Bucks County 3rd Beverly Peppernick, Krapf Bus Companies in Exton, Chester County Transit Style Bus 1st Kathy Torisky, Rohrer Bus Service in Duncannon, Perry County 2nd John Welsh, Lower Merion School District in Ardmore, Montgomery County 3rd Cheryl Vogelsang, Eagle Wolfington Leasing Corporation in Exton, Chester County CONTACT: Danielle E. Klinger (717) 705-1092

PennDOT

CONTACT: Danielle E. Klinger of PennDOT, +1-717-705-1092

Web site: http://www.state.pa.us/

Source: PRNewswire

More News in this Category