Intersection Poses Challenge

Newly-permitted teens scare me - even more when the newly-permitted teen belongs to me.

I've now ridden in the passenger seat with both my sons, and they're both going to be good drivers. They're patient and have a quiet self-confidence behind the wheel. Both qualities are key factors in safe driving.

On Wednesday, Jakob and I were driving home in the fog. As he drove west on CR 39 and crossed over the bridge, I noticed again a concern I had when Adam was driving.

The speed limit changes to 55 just over the bridge.

Just past the speed limit change, Chelsea meets CR 39. Motorists attempting to make a left-hand turn from Chelsea to head west on CR 39 have a difficulty both with the foilage along CR 39 and with that changing speed limit for the west-bound traffic.

We talked about the intersection during our safety meeting this morning. The bus drivers concur: the intersection is a challenge.

West-bound motorists need to wait to accelerate until they see what's happening at the Chelsea intersection.

Chelsea traffic waiting to make a left-hand turn needs to watch what's coming from the bridge, make the turn when it's safe to do so, and then accelerate confidently until reaching adequate speed.

It's a little more difficult for school buses to reach adequate speeds quickly; they don't have the same pick-up as smaller passenger vehicles. We would request that other motorists be patient around the school bus.

In other meeting news...

We discussed information about the upcoming negotiation and eventual contract approval. At March 15th's meeting, Superintendent Johnson will make a brief statement about the status - that they're talking to us and working toward a contract. On April 5, the school board should be able to see a contract and vote whether to approve it or not.

We urged caution in the depot parking lot and at each school parking lot; we ask drivers to maintain a 10 mph speed limit. Spring is statistically the most dangerous season for our smallest students, so maintaining safe speeds and practicing patience become critical factors in a bus safety program.

Finally, we asked the bus drivers to update route sheets, stop times, and student data, all of which is critical to effectively and efficiently creating routes. We hope to have most of the routing done before the end of the school year, and would like to send home tentative schedules the last week of school, but we'll see how that goes.

Next up? Registration at Pinewood. We'll be there Monday night and Tuesday morning.

Safe Driving!

Kari