Children on school buses put in danger by distracted drivers

Drivers are putting children at risk by not following state law

ROANOKE, Va. – Students are boarding school buses every day in many school districts in Southwest Virginia.

Mountain Valley Transportation, the operator of Roanoke's school buses, says some drivers are putting students in danger.

State law says that cars must stop if a bus has its red lights flashing, but bus drivers say that does not always happen.

"It's a real safety issue for our children.  Even after the bus pulls off, there's still children in that area, so you still need to be cautious," says Mountain Valley Transportation operations manager Arne Stensaker,

He says that many accidents are caused by distracted drivers, many of them using cellphones.

The most recent records available, from the 2015-2016 school year, show there were six crashes involving school buses in Roanoke, one in Lynchburg, two in Montgomery County and two in Danville.