PEAK TO PEAK - It is a fact that school bus drivers have a momentous responsibility to help keep the kids on their bus safe. Mountain bus drivers need the added skill set to be able to drive a school bus on mountain roads with hairpin curves, to go from dirt roads to highways, and anything in between. They drive a bus with kids ages preschool through high school. The sun may be out at the beginning of the route and half way through there is six inches of snow and the roads are getting slick. 

The bus drivers in the Peak to Peak area have hours of extra training to know how to handle a school bus on mountain roads and winter conditions. 

Keeping kids safe also requires the other drivers on the road to follow the law. This means locals as well as people who come into our communities. If a bus has to stop on a highway or on a side road to allow children to get on or off the bus there are laws that must be followed to keep kids safe. 

The Mountain-Ear has teamed up with The Boulder Valley School District to remind drivers to drive carefully around all school buses, bus stops, and schools. Please, slow down. 

Stop, Means, Stop! Colorado law says that if a school bus is stopped, its sign is extended and its lights are on, drivers are required to stop. 

You can be fined for dangerous behavior around school buses.

• Up to $300, a court appearance mandatory, and six points off your driver’s license

• A second offense within a five year period will cost $1,000

• Many areas are equipping buses with cameras to photograph license plates of offenders.

Please, take the safety of the kids, their families, and our communities seriously and follow the law.