By Barry H. Hendrix
The public must show caution around Thomasville city school buses in traffic.
Alabama law strictly requires drivers to stop for stopped school buses displaying flashing red lights and an extended stop arm. Drivers must remain stopped until the bus moves or the driver turns off the visual signals.
On two-lane roadways, traffic moving in both directions must stop.
On multi-lane undivided highways, traffic moving in all directions (both behind and meeting the bus) must stop.
On center turn lanes, all traffic from both directions must stop on a two-lane or multi-lane road featuring a center turning lane.
You do not need to stop on divided highways with physical barriers. If a highway has four or more lanes and is separated by a raised median, unpaved space, or physical barrier, oncoming traffic approaching from the opposite direction is not required to stop.
On a divided highway with a physical median, only vehicles following directly behind the school bus must stop. Oncoming traffic should proceed with caution.
“The stop sign on that bus is not like a stop sign on a street,” said Terry Stifflemire, Transportation Director with the Thomasville City Schools District. “Anytime that stop sign is out on that bus there is a child fixing to be on that road.”
Safety is the number one priority for school bus drivers. The public must be patient with school buses in traffic. Running past a school bus will cost up to $300 on the first instance. The second offense is up to $500, 30-days driver’s license suspension, and 100 hours of community service must be completed. The third offense is up to $1,000, 90-day license suspension and 200 hours of community service.
“The camera on the outside of the bus will get their tag number, if they run the stop sign,” Stifflemire said. School system transportation officials praised the efforts of the Thomasville Police Department on observing the movement of school buses in the area.
The Thomasville City Schools District has a fleet of 14 buses and 10 bus routes.
There are 10 regular route drivers and currently no substitutes. To become a school bus driver, you have to earn your Commercial Driver’s License (CDL), then there is a background check, physical and drug test. New drivers are given a minimal four hours of training, and they attend four days of bus school through the Alabama Department of Education.
There are two annual in-service meetings for drivers, and 50 percent of drivers are random drug tested four times-a-year. Once a year there are recertification classes at the Thomasville High School library.
Substitutes and coaches with CDL’s come under the same supervision as the bus route drivers. Stifflemire attends a summer supervisors and safety conference.
The Thomasville bus fleet includes one 2026 model, three 2024 models, six 2019 models, and four spare 2014 models.
If a bus is kept on the route for less than 10 years, the school system is awarded fleet renewal monies from the state department. The cost of one bus is approximately $154,000.
Wear and tear on tires and brakes cost the most, Stifflemire said. The mechanic inspects each bus each month, and the state does an inspection once-a-year.
Safety features have been added through the years. There are four cameras on each bus. “We (The Thomasville system) were ahead of the curve on that. …We try to stay up-to-date or ahead.” The last four buses purchased have air conditioning, and all future buses will have air conditioning.
The State of Alabama has made it a Class “A” misdemeanor if you set foot on the bus without authorization – punishable by up to a year in jail. Each bus has a warning sticker.
Stifflemire is in his 14th year with school district transportation.