Student safety in getting on and off school buses is becoming a priority in town.
Superintendent Bill Olsen on Jan. 5 issued a statement saying there are an increasing number of reports about vehicle drivers not stopping for school buses with red lights flashing and stop signs displayed.
Olsen asked observers of such incidents to report the license plate number and a description of the vehicle to police.
“I will be discussing this with (Police) Chief Tom McEnaney,” Olsen stated. “However, with a limited number of patrol cars it is difficult to stop all offenders.
Rene Dee, owner of Dee Bus Service in Tyngsborough confirmed that bus drivers are seeing more such violations.
“We’re getting a lot of complaints from people,” she said.
Dee said the school bus accident that took place on Jan. 4 along Forge Village Road was not related to Olsen’s request.
“That was a different school district,” she said.
On the afternoon of Jan. 4, a school bus carrying 21 students from the Nashoba Valley Technical High School was struck on the left front bumper by the driver of a minivan. The accident took place at the intersection where Abbot and Town Farm roads meet Forge Village Road. The vehicle driver and one student were taken to the hospital with minor injuries.
Nashoba Tech is not part of the Westford School District, but the school is located on Littleton Road in Westford and students from Westford attend the school.
Follow Joyce Pellino Crane on Twitter @joypellinocrane.
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