JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Following recent incidents involving Duval County Public Schools buses, DCPS Police Chief Jackson Short answered some questions about driver safety, road rules, and what drivers should expect near railroad crossings.
Short, a law enforcement professional with more than 28 years of experience, addressed common questions about school bus laws, the dangers of passing a stopped bus, and what all drivers can do to help keep students safe.
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Florida law requires school buses to stop at railroad crossings
When asked about the rules of the road involving school buses and railroad tracks, Short was clear.
“Florida state law says that every school bus that has children on it must stop at every railroad crossing within the range of at least 15 feet, but no more than 50 feet,” he said.
Short explained that drivers approaching a railroad crossing should always expect a school bus ahead to come to a full stop — regardless of whether warning arms are down or a train is approaching.
“Once the school bus driver stops, he or she is required to look and listen for any trains that may be coming,” Short said. “And then when they finally do think it is safe to proceed, [the bus drivers] are not allowed to shift gears.”
That means crossings will be slow. Short urged drivers to stay patient.
“For our other drivers here in Duval County, they need to be aware of that, and they need to be paying attention. They need to be patient with the school bus drivers,” he said.
Why a full stop — not just a slow roll?
Short explained that school buses are not alone in being required to stop at railroad crossings.
“There are other commercial vehicles that are also required to stop depending on the type of cargo that they’re carrying,” he said.
The reasoning, he added, comes down to consequences and capability.
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“It’s because of the consequences involved. Number one, the consequences involved of a train striking a vehicle like that,” Short said. “But also, it’s not as easy for — some of these larger vehicles, such as a school bus — to maneuver over train tracks quickly or get out of the way quickly as maybe a smaller sedan.”
In the case of school buses, Short noted, the cargo in question is children.
Don’t even think about passing a stopped bus
Impatient drivers may be tempted to go around a stopped school bus near railroad tracks. Short said that would be both illegal and dangerous.
“It would be dangerous for the driver that’s trying to pass. It would be dangerous for the school bus and its occupants. It would be dangerous for any train that’s coming,” he said. “So that is not something that anybody should be considering doing.”
Short also reminded drivers that school buses are on the road at all times — not just during morning and afternoon routes.
“We also have school buses throughout the day taking students on field trips, which was the case in both of these last two crashes,” he said. “So any time that our drivers see our school buses out and about, we need to assume that we have students on there and we need to be driving carefully around them and obeying all of our state laws.”
Passing a stopped bus comes with real consequences
Drivers who illegally pass a stopped school bus face more than just a warning.
“That could result in a driver getting a citation. It could result in points on your license,” Short said.
Beyond the legal and financial penalties, Short emphasized the human cost.
“More importantly, it could cause a tragedy. And nobody wants to live with that, nobody wants to cause a tragedy,” he said. “And in these situations, dealing with very young students, just know that these are young students whose lives can be changed drastically.”
Chief Short’s plea to drivers, students, parents, staff
Short closed with a direct message to everyone sharing the road.
“Our message to all of our drivers, all of our students, all of our staff is to be careful,” he said.
He pointed to DCPS’s existing “Be Safe. Be Seen.” campaign — aimed at students walking and biking to school — as a foundation the community can build on.
“This is just another level of student safety,” Short said. “We would just reiterate to all of our drivers that, again, the school buses are big and yellow for a reason, and we should be looking out for them.”
Short urged drivers to expect buses to stop at railroad crossings, watch for stop arms at bus stops, know state law, and remember that keeping students safe is a shared responsibility.
“We all have to work together to keep our students safe,” he said.
Watch the full video here.