Latest local news, weather and high school sports for Tri-State area

FT. MADISON, IA. -- Most of us understand that when we see a big yellow bus with flashing lights and sign that says stop, you should stop.

Yet the Fort Madison Community School District continues to have problems with motorists passing stopped buses dropping off kids.

KHQA's Jarod Wells shows you the district's newest attempt to keep your students safe in this KHQA Safe Family Report.

Fort Madison school bus #25 seems to be invisible. More drivers pass that bus, even when lights are flashing, than all the other school buses combined.

Every school bus in the state of Iowa has a sign on the back telling motorists it is illegal to pass a bus while lights are flashing, but cars continue passing a Fort Madison school bus when it is stopped, lights flashing, dropping kids off.

FMCSD Transportation Director Steve Carle said, "Seemingly, the big yellow bus with flashing lights isn't doing the job."

Ironically, the bus that is passed the most, #25, also has the most dangerous route, dropping students of on busy highway 61. The school district has already put in a camera to catch people passing it and strobe lights to give people even more warning not to pass, yet problems continue.  Last school year this bus alone had 28 incidents with people passing it while stopped, all the other buses combined had only three incidents. Bus #25 also has been rear ended this year. So the newest addition is a new sign. When the yellow lights come on it will read "caution - stopping" and when the red lights come on it will read "stop - do not pass" eliminating any confusion.

Carle said, "I'd spend a million dollars if I thought it was going to save a life, that's our main objective here is safety."

The sign only cost about $400. The district is also planning on putting LED lights on the back of bus #25, so it can be seen from further away that it is stopping.

Carle said, "Hopefully we can get something done to down scale these things and eventually, hopefully eliminate them."

Transportation Director Steve Carle hopes to have the sign installed by the end of this week.

Fort Madison Community School District Transportation Director Steve Carle wants to remind people about what to do when approaching a stopped bus.

If you are on a two lane road all traffic must stop when a bus is stopped and the lights are flashing.

On a four lane highway, traffic in the two on-coming lanes does not have to stop, but all traffic in the two lanes moving in the same direction must stop.