Drivers not stopping for school buses.

You’re right @fuzzybuddy .. it is happening all over the country daily.

Too many people ignorant of the laws …. no drivers license … new to driving in the US .. and/or under the influence of something.
 

Not enough police hiring and police wages too low to risk getting killed.
With some of the public behavior as it has been for the last 4-5 years: defund police, police hate.
No wonder there are not cops out there to enforce traffic laws, they are too busy answering "stupid is as stupid does" calls.
 
I think if a camera captures the make, model, and license plate, it should be a very easy matter to find the violators and enforce laws, regardless of police staff issues. So make sure all buses have cameras capable of capturing such information. If school districts can do things like raise my property taxes $500 per year so they can build enhanced facilities for a school graduating 6 students a year, then they certainly should have a few hundred dollars for a capable camera.
 
I see it regularly, also speeding in active school zones. Most of the school zones around here that have a large number of speeders now have an officer sitting in a car to catch the violators.

I saw a car stop last week on the other side of a divided highway (more like a divided street....I think the divide has to be more than 10 feet or so) for a school bus. Not necessary, at least in Florida, and people were honking at him.
 
I think it happens everywhere, and it is NOT right.. here there is HUGE fines and points, but it still happens... I think the public on the streets, should be out there with a pen and paper... it's disgusting that some drivers just ignore the rules concerning school buses...
 
A driver passed a stopped school bus in my small town letting off kids for morning classes. A little primary school boy was run over and killed. I was sad and angry. Not stopping for a school bus is a flagrant violation, more serious than other violations IMO.
 
I do always. Mainly because the first child that I ever heard had died, was a friend of mine in the previous year of school (2nd grade). In 3rd grade, my mom found her obituary in the local newspaper. Apparently she left the school bus stop where the other children were, to cross the street to buy a notebook from the store across the street. When she came out of the store, she ran across the street to get back to the school bus stop, and was hit by a car. I later found out that she must have hit her head on the pavement, because there was massive brain trauma. She died about 20 minutes later. She was only 9 years old. :cry:

I never forgot my little friend Gayle Ann. When I go to work in the mornings, I always have to stop for school buses. When I see a little girl crossing the street to get to the bus, I always have a tears in my eyes. I know what damage my car could do to that small child. And I think of my little friend Gayle Ann. When the little girl makes it safely to the other side where the school bus is waiting, I'm always happy for her. But I think back to my friend Gayle Ann, and always wish that she also could have made it back safely to the other side of the street.

In death, Gayle Ann has made me a safer and more cautious driver than I may have been. She was killed almost 66 years ago. But I have never forgotten her. I still think of her when I am driving and see children.
 
Here in Ontario passing a stopped school bus is a serious crime. For the first offence the fines range from $400 to $2000. For a second conviction the fines range from $1000 to $4000 AND SIX MONTHS IN JAIL. Yes in Ontario you MAY end up serving a SIX month sentence in a Provincial jail, if convicted a second time, for passing a stopped school bus.

link. Stopping For School Buses Law in Ontario.

Police in Ontario have a number of enforcement measures to detect and arrest drivers who pass stopped school buses. One method is to have an unmarked Police car follow a school bus along it's route, with the in car video camera running to record possible offenders. Another method is to have a Police officer ride on the school bus, with a 2 way radio, and have a Police car follow at a distance. JIM.
 
Friday saw a School buss rolling thru a 4 way stop. ↨ Me ___ ← bus
The Highway Patrol was coming up the Hill and didn't see the driver do it.
I crossed the intersection and 100 yards down the hill Met the LEO going up.
The Bus was Mt of students though.

Watching GTP racing on the TV right now.
 
In PA, we are pretty much in the middle with offenders passing school buses with their lights on. The fines range from$300-600, but we go for the throat on the first offense. The Judge will often hand down a fine in the $600 range and pull the driver’s license for about another 6 months. It’s actually a felony in this state, so it’s also possible to get jail time, unless you are remorseful and willing to accept responsibility.

If the police show any video, the offender’s goose is cooked. Video is really helpful in these matters. There have been times when the driver will contend he wasn’t driving so as not to get the points on his license. You really can’t see the driver on video, but every now and then you get lucky to see a shirt or part of a tattoo. If he or she says in court that they weren’t drinking, the judge will ask who was?

The answer is usually a sister or best friend. The Judge will then ask why they didn’t bring their alibi to court with them. This is where the defendant will look stunned and say “I don’t know.”

Then comes the verdict, “Guilty! See the bailiff.”
 
When Do You Have to Stop for a School Bus in California? The Rules Explained - The Accident Network Law Group

In California, drivers are required to come to a complete stop when encountering a school bus that has its stop sign extended and red lights flashing. The law mandates stopping for a school bus in the following scenarios:

  • When approaching from the opposite direction on a two-lane road.
  • When traveling behind a school bus that has stopped to pick up or drop off students.
  • On undivided roads, regardless of the number of lanes.
However, if you’re driving on a road with a raised median or two sets of solid double yellow lines, you’re not required to stop when you see a stopped school bus on the opposite side. Fines for disobeying California’s school bus-stopping laws can be as high as $1,000. Moreover, a driver may also face the risk of losing their driving privileges.
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Here in Santa Clara County, before I retired, would daily drive north on a nearby 4 to 6 lane main urban boulevard with a median that also had school bus stops. Invariably, almost NO drivers ever stopped after school busses stopped with sign extended and red lights flashing, while instead using the inner lane, they would use to just go around. I would always stop and often that caused honking behind me obviously because they lacked understanding of the law. Some vehicles would stop behind me while others paused for a bit until they saw someone else just go around as in Monkey See Monkey Do...confused? (and ignorant).

This is the result of unless laws and policies are enforced, some people will always ignore whatever with such negative behaviors likely to spread to others that tend to not think for themselves.

California Driver's are now tested far less deeply or as often as when I grew up in part due to large numbers of foreign born that advocates complained about meeting requirements so politicians watered down policies. My county has one of the highest levels of foreign born in the country.
 


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