MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (WTVF) — Friday, Murfreesboro Police officers tested its city's drivers to ensure that all abided by school bus safety laws on the road.
Police Lt. Greg Walker rode in a school bus with a bus driver, and at different points in the city, the bus stopped, extending a stop sign and flashing red lights to warn others on the road not to drive past. Other officers followed the bus in police cars or waited on side streets in case of violations.
Three drivers were charged with failure to stop for a school bus stop sign throughout the day.
"The drivers blatantly disregarded the stopped school bus putting children in danger," Walker said. "The only way this enforcement would have been successful [was] if everyone observed the law, and we didn't write any citations or stop one car."
MPD officers cite three drivers who drove pass a Murfreesboro City Schools bus while the stop sign was deployed and lights flashing said MPD Lt. Greg Walker. It was part of the Rutherford County Traffic Safety Task Force school bus safety traffic enforcement on Thursday, Dec. 15. pic.twitter.com/DRJrsKINVa
— Murfreesboro TN Police Department (@MboroPoliceDept) December 16, 2022
The event was sponsored by the Rutherford County Traffic Safety Task Force. Its goal is the promotion of school bus safety for bus drivers and students.
Walker said the task force will conduct another school bus traffic safety operation in the new year.
"We want to remind people to slow down, buckle up, stay off the phone, and pay attention to what's going on around them — especially when children are present," Walker said.
