Bus driver John Truett said the problem with drivers illegally passing school buses has gotten a “tick” better since Temple police decided to crack down on the problem, but he said a “tick” is not enough.

“They were only out there one morning,” Truett said. “It helped the morning they were there, but I just wish they would get out there and patrol more.”

Special needs bus driver Tony Wood agreed.

“I don’t see any change in it myself,” Wood said. “It’s not an everyday thing but once is all it would take. The public needs to be educated to have more respect for school buses.”

A month ago, Temple Police Chief Ed Whitt announced that he planned to schedule officers overtime on random dates to patrol during the early morning hours.

“Just because someone can’t manage their time it doesn’t mean they have a right to break the law,” Whitt said. “It is not worth risking a child’s life to try to avoid being two or three minutes late to work.”

But Temple police were only able to patrol one morning during the past month due to time and budget constraints, according to Whitt.

“We don’t have enough officers to be out there all of the time,” Whitt said. “This time of year there are always scheduling issues. But we will be out there again. We hope to do an early patrol at least once a month.”

But Truett said he doesn’t believe the monthly patrol will be enough to change drivers’ behavior.

“One time is not going to do it,” Truett said. “I’m not asking for a miracle, I’m just asking them to be seen there once in a while. I just don’t want to have to wait until someone gets killed.”

Truett cited an incident in Carroll County last week that he believed should serve as a warning for Temple drivers.

“I just don’t want what happened in Carrollton to happen here or I don’t want to have to wait until a kid gets killed,” Truett said.

On Nov. 18 around 7 a.m., after a woman walked her sister to a school bus stop on Lovvorn Road, she was hit by a car while trying to re-cross the street, according to a Georgia State Patrol report.

The bus had already pulled away when the woman started to cross the street so the state trooper determined that the vehicle’s driver was not at fault, but bus driver Susan Watson, who witnessed the accident, said drivers always need to be careful when they see a school bus.

“People need to treat a school bus like a stop light,” she said. “When you drive down the road and see a green light, you are automatically going to slow down because it could turn red when you get there. It’s the same thing with a bus. You never know when it’s going to stop or who could be around it.”

The woman broke her neck and dislocated her shoulder, but the situation could have been worse, according to Watson.

“It was a 21-year-old girl, but it very well could have been a 6-year-old girl,” Watson said.

Truit said he and other bus drivers are always on the lookout for irresponsible drivers.

“I’ve even trained my kids on the bus to be aware,” Truett said. “If someone passes us when they’re not supposed to, my kids know to look for the car make and model and the tag number.”

If the drivers can record a complete tag number, they report it to their supervisor. If not, Watson said, drivers send out a warning over the radio to warn others about the potential danger.

Wood said his main concern is with a railroad crossing in Temple near East Johnson Street.

“In a school bus you have to come to a stop, open a window and the door to make sure a train isn’t coming,” he said. “When I start to cross the tracks, other drivers at the stop start to go when I’m turning left. Then I have to stop on the tracks, which is not a safe thing.” Though the drivers are not passing the bus while it has its stop signs out, Wood said it is still dangerous.

Whitt said he plans to patrol sometime in the next two weeks.

“People will see us out soon,” Whitt said.