Schools

Letter: Wilton Drivers Should Take Extra Caution Around School Buses

By Chief Michael Lombado

 

Now that summer is coming to a close and school is about to begin I would like to take this opportunity to remind drivers that school buses will be on the road.

Buses, students and parents will be traveling to and from schools throughout Wilton. This means more vehicles on our state and town roads during morning and afternoon hours as students, teachers and parents go to and from school and attend after school activities.

It is important that each of us understand that buses will be making frequent stops throughout town as students are transported to and from school. As a reminder to all, when a school bus is stopped and has displayed the red lights and stop bar we must come to a complete stop, whether traveling in either direction. We must also, wait until the red lights and stop bar are no longer displayed before continuing on. As a reminder, traffic must stop in all lanes on Route 7 for a stopped school bus with extended stop bar and flashing red lights. All drivers must bring their vehicles to a complete stop even though the roadway is wide in some areas.

I also remind motorists that you must yield to all emergency vehicles, including police, fire and ambulance as they respond to an emergency call. Motorists must pull to the right and come to a complete stop when an emergency vehicle has its lights and siren on. This also includes vehicles traveling in the opposite direction. An emergency vehicle will only have lights and siren activated when
it is necessary to the response of the call. There have been many instances in the past in which drivers have not yielded to these vehicles and delayed response to critical situations and endangered those driving.

The goal of the Wilton Police Department is to provide a safe community to all that live and work in Wilton. Please obey all traffic laws.

Michael Lombardo
Chief of Police


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