In Raleigh, North Carolina, the Wake County Public School District is testing a new way for students to get on and off the school bus. A bar swings out in front of the bus to indicate that it is safe to cross the street, sorta like those gates we see at a checkpoint.  The kids have to wait until the bus driver swings out the bar, signaling it is safe to cross the street.

After following child safety issues for more than two decades, I have to say I really like this idea.  Buses have always had that stop sign that opens up, but people tend to ignore those, and hundreds of kids have been killed over the years when cars try to pass the bus when it is stopped.  Having a physical gate that swings out and actually blocks the road (preferably with a flashing stop sign on it) is a lot more likely to get people’s attention and force them to comply.

So parents: do us a favor, and start calling your local school officials, chewing their ear off about equipping their own buses with similar devices.  It’s an added expense, but in terms of cost verses reward it’s a far better investment than many of the other safety campaigns officials spend money on.