(Photo by Russ Mitchell) Trooper Vince Kurtz, Clay County Sheriff Randy Krukow, Spencer Police Chief Mark Lawson, Iowa Department of Education transportation officer Max Christensen and Spencer Schools director of transportation Julie Nemmers talk during a press conference about school bus safety Wednesday in Spencer. [Order this photo]

There were no sirens, flashing lights or pieces of twisted metal when patrol cars were parked in the area of a school bus in north Spencer on Wednesday morning.

Members of the Spencer Police Department, Clay County Sheriff's Office and Iowa State Patrol would like to keep it that way.

The law enforcement officers, in cooperation with the Spencer School District and Iowa Department of Education, asked news agencies to remind motorists about school bus safety during a press conference at the Post 6 Iowa State Patrol office.

"It's school time again and the big, yellow buses out there are carrying our kids and grandkids," said Clay County Sheriff Randy Krukow. "We just hope people will be safe out there."

Trooper Vince Kurtz, who organized the press conference, wants motorists to be prepared, drive defensively and use caution when school buses are on the roads.

"If the yellow lights come on, and you're following the school bus, you need to slow down and be prepared to stop," he said. "You cannot pass the school bus at that point. When the red lights come on, you're required to stop at least 15 feet behind the bus and be prepared for children exiting the bus. When you're approaching or meeting the school bus and the yellow lights come on, you're required to reduce your speed to 20 mph and be prepared to stop again. When the red lights come on, even when you're meeting the bus, you're still required to stop."

The trooper's advice will spare the driver a potential citation. It will also make travel a little more safe for the 231,000 children who will ride school buses to school as the new school year begins in Iowa. The state spends almost $110 million getting the students from home to school and back again.

"School buses are the safest form of transportation on the face of the planet," said Max Christensen, the Iowa Department of Transportation's school transportation executive officer. "They're safer than the family automobile. They're safer than other buses, such as transit buses, they're also safer than planes or trains."

Often, it's the other vehicles on the road that concern bus drivers -- too many people are passing school buses when the "stop" arm is out.

"They could be killing children that are crossing the street in front of them," Christensen said.

In Spencer, bus drivers travel about 116,000 miles in a school year. About 156,000 students get on and off Spencer buses each school year.

Julie Nemmers, the director of transportation for the Spencer School District said her bus drivers have had some close calls. The local school district counted 67 stop-arm violations during the 2007-08 school year.

"I have had drivers who have literally had to grab a child by the back of their coat and grab them from exiting the bus because they saw an approaching vehicle and knew it wasn't going to stop," she said.

Part of the reason is technology, including cell phones, according to Nemmers:

"They're distracted and we need to get them into the habit again of watching for the buses and being aware of what's gong on around them," she says.

Spencer Police Chief Mark Lawson said officers are especially concerned about pick-up and drop-off sites near schools.

"The majority of the school bus violations are at those corners," Lawson said. "It's the second day of school and already we've had a school bus violation."

Bus drivers have some help again this year. Each active bus in the Spencer fleet has three cameras. Two monitor activity and safety inside the bus. The Spencer School District is one of about 40 in the state that has a third digital recording camera. It is automatically activated when the bus displays its amber lights.

The software system continues filming and indicates when the bus lights go to red and the stop arm goes out. The image is sharp enough to pick up license plate sequences. Bus drivers also say the plate sequences out loud and their voice is picked up by the digital recording device.

Nemmers said the idea of video technology to prove violations can be traced back to her predecessor, Dan Schulz. He became concerned about the number of vehicles running stop arms on the preschool bus carrying 3- and 4-year-olds. He began researching video technology that would record stop-arm violations.

"One camera system was purchased for the preschool bus," Nemmers said, in a statement prepared for the press conference. "Cameras were mounted on the inside of the bus, facing outward, and recorded drivers who passed illegally."

In a six-month trial period, with only the one camera installed, 40 drivers were caught and all but three pleaded guilty after viewing the tape. During the next six-month time frame, only four drivers were cited.

In-town violations are then handled by the Spencer Police Department. Krukow said his department averages about seven stop-arm violations per year.

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FLASHING YELLOW means bus is preparing to stop.

* When following the bus, the warning means it is illegal to pass from behind.

* When approaching the bus, drivers should slow their vehicle to 20 mph or less.

* Be prepared to stop.

FLASHING RED & STOP SIGN OUT means kids are getting out of the bus.

* It's illegal to pass the bus from behind or the opposite direction.

* Stop vehicles at least 15 feet from the bus.

* Remain stopped until flashing red and stop sign is pulled in.

FOR THE KIDS:

* Stop and look both ways before crossing any street.

* Getting on or off, do not cross the street until the bus driver signals an "OK" to cross.

* Always cross in front of the bus far enough ahead to be seen by the driver --

"five giant steps" is a good rule to follow.

* Be five giant steps back from the curb while waiting for the bus.

* Do not run, push or shove when waiting at the bus stop.

* Wait until the bus driver signals an OK to get on the bus.

* Never pick up anything dropped near the bus. Tell the bus driver and follow his or her directions.

* Never crawl under a bus.

Source: Iowa Pupil Transportation Association