The Penobscot School Department recently purchased a new school bus equipped with a piece of equipment that we in Maine are not used to seeing. It is simply a small clear strobe light that is located about two-thirds of the way back on top of the bus. The strobe is designed to flash continuously while the bus is being used to pick up or drop off children.

The purpose of these strobe lights is to alert drivers of a slow-moving vehicle with frequent stops. These lights are in addition to the yellow warning lights and the red lights that require all traffic to stop. (The clear strobe light does not require you to stop but to encourage you to use caution.)

The Penobscot bus is used in West Penobscot to the Castine and Orland lines and for transporting high school students to and from Blue Hill with stops on Route 175 in South Penobscot in the afternoons.

I want to express my appreciation to all drivers who use caution around school buses. This makes the driver’s job much easier and safer. Jim Robertson Penobscot driver