INDIANAPOLIS (WTHR) — Do your kids wear reflective gear at the bus stop to keep them safe?
While police crack down on all the bus stop violations, there are a few school districts trying different methods to protect kids. The Batesville School Corporation has found one option that costs less than $2.
It came about one day when a school bus driver called in sick and Mark Struewing, Head of Transportation Maintenance, stepped in as the substitute driver.
He realized that if a driver is unfamiliar with the roads and the stops on the bus route, filling in can be a really tricky job. The majority of the school year, the morning bus route is over before the sun rises. Throw in inclement weather and it becomes downright dangerous.
But while Struewing was filling in, something happened that gave him an idea.
"So I was picking up a little girl, a kindergartner, and she was walking down her driveway — a really dark driveway — and she had light-up shoes on, and I thought, 'This is great!'" Struewing said.
He found a little hook-on strobe light online for $1.80 and took it to school leaders who loved the idea.
They've now bought several hundred lights with the goal of having one light on a backpack at each bus stop.
"The other thing it does besides letting the sub drivers know where the students are is that other motorists going by become aware that, 'Oh there's children standing along this road, you know, I need to be more careful.'" saud Ed Krause, the Director of Transportation and Safety.
So it's a simple and cheap purchase at $1.80 that could potentially save lives.