With school back in session and many new au pairs who have recently arrived, I wanted to remind everyone about what to do in different situations with school buses. If you have questions, please ask myself or your host parents.
The rules regarding stopping for school buses are:
- It is against the law to pass a stopped school bus while its lights are flashing and its’ stop arm is extended.
- On undivided roadways, with no physical barrier or median, vehicles must stop on both sides of the roadway.
- Yellow flashing lights indicate that the bus is preparing to load or unload children. Motorists should slow down and prepare to stop their vehicles.
- Red flashing lights and extended stop arms indicate that the bus has stopped, and children are getting on or off. Motorists approaching from either direction must wait until the red lights stop flashing before proceeding.
Police, who observe a motorist failing to stop and remained stopped for a school bus, can issue the violator a citation which carries a $570.00 fine and 3 points. Drivers failing to stop for pedestrians in a crosswalk can be issued a citation for $80.00, and drivers failing to exercise due caution when encountering children can be issued a citation for $70.00.
Yesterday we had a spectacular trip to Spectacle Island with aupairs from the greater Boston area. We all enjoyed the view from the ferry over the Boston skyline while heading to the island in the morning.
We listened to the ranger who gave the tour how the island was shaped and became a park later with all the soil of the big dig from the major road construction in Boston that was going on for over 10 years.
