BROKEN ARROW, Okla. — In only five days, Broken Arrow Public School vehicles have been involved in three separate crashes, two of which involved school buses.

Every crash creates the potential for a dangerous situation for both the driver and the children on board.

In each of the reported cases, the drivers who hit the school vehicles were distracted.

Thankfully, no students or drivers were hurt in these incidents, but BAPS is still asking drivers to pay close attention on the road.

“One [crash] was a bus where there was a distracted driver. That bus was stopped picking up children while that stop was being serviced,” said BAPS. “And then we had a bus that was rear ended while it was conducting a safety stop...at a train track.” The third vehicle involved in a crash was a maintenance truck that was rear ended.

The Assistant Director of Transportation for BAPS Jennifer Hayes says these incidents can really scare bus drivers.

“It can really rattle you a little bit when you begin to look at the details of what could’ve happened...We do see distracted driving often.”

Hayes reminds drivers that if they see a school bus, they should be hyper-aware of their surroundings and be prepared to stop every time they see a red flashing stop sign.

Tequila Friar, the manager of the bus drivers and the training department, explained one of the situations involving school buses that most often confuse drivers.

“If there’s not a median in the middle [of a highway], both sides have to stop every time a bus is stopped at a bus stop...[With] an undivided highway that is controlled by a median, now the opposite traffic doesn’t have to stop. When the bus is going east and the cars are going west, the west side traffic does not have to stop but the east side does have to stop.”

BAPS also encourages parents to speak with their children about bus safety whether they are riding on the bus or driving near one.