District Tests Third Brake Light On School Buses

SEBRING - When a school bus driver steps on the brake pedal, hopefully drivers behind the bus quickly realize it's slowing down and possibly coming to a stop.

Some Highlands County school buses feature a third brake light to help alert motorists when the brakes are applied.

"We are always trying to look for ways to improve safety for our children," said Transportation Fleet Manager Paul Sparks. Vehicles running into the back of school buses account for 95 percent of the school bus crashes.

About 25 of the district's 100 buses have the third brake light, which is about 10 inches wide and located at the center below the rear door's window.

The Florida Department of Education Transportation Department approved of the installation of the extra brake light.

New brake lights, including the two standard round lights on buses, are made with a number of LEDs (light emitting diodes), which are fine if the driver is directly in the line of sight of the light, Sparks said. The lights are not as easily visible from the side.

With many of today's small cars sitting low to the ground, "my theory was, let's get a light in front of where the driver is," he said. "When you get in tight situations in traffic it really stands out."

In January 2007, the Highlands County School District was the first district in the state to install the third brake light.

So far there have been no rear-end crashes involving the buses with the extra light, but district transportation officials are waiting until the end of the school year to evaluate the safety measure.

School bus safety is an important everyday focus of bus drivers and the district's service technicians, according to Transportation Director David Solomon.

Drivers perform safety checks of their buses twice a day prior to their morning and afternoon routes. The district's technicians conduct a comprehensive safety and mechanical check of each bus every 20 days.