Preventing tragedy while enrout to the school bus stop

RED BANK, Tennessee(WDEF) – A close call involving a child walking along a rural road to get to a school bus stop has prompted discussion about where bus stops should be located and how safe it is for children to walk on the side of roads.

Just before 7 AM when the sun is barely above the horizon, Ashmore Avenue is a very dark and dangerous road, especially for children who walk along the road to get to the nearest bus stop.

WDEF spoke to Lanni Marchant who was taking her morning jog along that same road with two flashlights on her headband.

"I can understand they have to to get to the bus stop but this road is just really unsafe, even for myself as an adult running up and down it," Marchant said.

WDEF contacted Hamilton County School Transportation Supervisor Ben Coulter. He said if a parent feels their child is taking a risk every time they walk to the school bus stop; there’s an online solution to that problem linked to the school district website.

"There’s a bus stop request tool that they can click on. That allows them to fill out a bus stop request, pick their location and make comments about why they think they need a bus stop there. We will look at that and make a determination on whether we need to add a bus stop there," Coulter said.

In the meantime, Coulter wanted to remind parents about ways to keep their child safe when walking two-lane roads with no sidewalks.

"Some sort of reflective patch on their backpack or something like that is good to have. Make sure that they know how to walk down a road if they have to walk any distance."

Coulter is also advising motorist to remember that during sunrise, many kids might be walking along rural roads to get to their bus stop.

"They need to be very cautious. We have a lot of blind hills. We have a lot of curves. Blind curves in this county."