'School's Open–Drive Carefully'
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AAA is reminding drivers to be extra careful on the roads with the upcoming school year about to start.
Thursday, AAA kicked off its 79th annual "School's Open–Drive Carefully" campaign. It reminds drivers to use caution in school zones and residential neighborhoods.
State Police Lieutenant Jon Lupo says everyone needs to come together to keep students safe this school year.
"It's really a partnership, it's a partnership of law enforcement professionals, its a partnership of child passenger safety professionals, agencies like AAA that have an interest in child safety and not just enforcement, but education," said Lupo.
Last year, Lupo says nearly 50,000 tickets were issued to motorists who illegally passed school buses.
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Drivers are not the only ones law enforcement and school officials are reaching out to.
They are also calling on students to make sure they behave themselves while riding the bus this school year.
"For the most part, what we tell our students is that we expect classroom behavior on the school bus," said Jeffrey Thall, Director of Transportation for the Churchville-Chili School District. "It's part of their school day. They need to be respectful of everybody on the bus and they need to listen to the adult on the bus. Some buses have an attendant or monitor, not every bus does but they need to be listening to what the adults say and following directions."