Stupid = Expensive!!

[Dave1982]

I had a chance to talk with a friend of mine who is a police officer. He had a good one to tell. We'll call him J. Now J is normally pretty easy going and doesn't like writing "money tickets." If he can find a reason to knock it down to a warning, he will. But he is more than willing to cite people who deserve it.

Like this woman.

J was working a traffic detail. He was on foot and another officer was in a cruiser down the block. A school bus approached, slowed to a stop, put on its flashing red lights and stop sign, and began discharging kids

The woman passed the bus, ignored J's orders to stop, and kept going.

J quickly radioed to the officer down the block to stop that vehicle, then switched places with that officer so he could deal with the woman.

SC: What did I do????

J: well first of all you passed a school bus with its lights flashing. Second, you ignored a nearly 300 pound police officer telling you to stop!

SC: what 300 pound officer???

J: ME!!!!!!

SC: well I didn't see you!

J: with all due respect if you couldn't see me, then you shouldn't be driving!

SC: I can see just fine!!!

J: I'm gonna need to see your license and registration

SC: are you giving me a ticket????

J: yes, and it's going to take me about ten minutes to write it because there's gonna be a lot of zeroes!

Me: isn't it a really big fine for passing a school bus?

J wouldn't say how much, only that she got a "VERY large ticket."

Butt wait, it gets better! After giving her the ticket, he started to leave when she suddenly gave him double middle fingers and called him a "prick!"

She thought he was out of sight and out of earshot.

He wasn't.

J: is there something wrong with your fingers ma'am?? Would you like to see them like this??? *mimes the handcuff position* cuz that's gen next step if you keep running your mouth!

She shut up pretty quick after that threat

Easily one of he most well-deserved traffic tickets I've ever heard about.

[Sandman]

Depending on how many times she has done it.. It could be $2k

[Gerrinson]

I believe in this area it may get up to $3K, actually. I could be confusing it with the maximum fine for parking in a fire lane during an emergency, though...

[Dave1982]

Don't forget the added fine for failing to obey traffic control direction

In mass, illegally passing a school bus is $250/1000/2000 for 1st/2nd/3rd offense plus a $5 "public safety surcharge." Failure to obey a police officer directing traffic is another $100.

So assuming she only committed these two violations, it'd be anywhere from $355-2105

[notalwaysright]

I feel like recently I've heard several reports of multiple children being killed by people doing this exact same thing. Whatever fine she got, it's not big enough, imo. Shouldn't be allowed behind the wheel at all!

[Arcus]

We need more of this.

https://youtu.be/u6DaLM2HQIw

[Buzzard]

One fun tidbit: A good officer can find something to write up on ANY car you care to point at. Even that car of the fancy turntable on the dealer's floor that they've spent so much time on has SOMETHING that can be written up.
It's all a matter of how... energized the officer is at the time.

[RealUnimportant]

She thought he was out of sight and out of earshot.

He wasn't.

At this point I'd be looking to get her eyesight checked, 'cause that's three times she's missed the blindingly obvious!

[Jetfire]

Not in my province, but next door, passing a schoolbus can cost your license

Failing to stop for a school bus will also result in 12 demerit points and driver's licence suspension for three months, plus a $5,000 fine.

It's without a doubt the strictest penalty in Canada.

On a personal note, years ago when I was still taking the city buses, it was early fall and the route I was on wound through a housing neighbourhood just as the school buses were doing their pickups. So the drivers were used to crisscrossing paths with school buses. One morning, the driver was chatting with other passengers (and was a friendly guy regardless), and waved to a schoolbus driver enpassant. Right after, he realized the lights were flashing. (All the kids had boarded at least.

I did email the city transit to outline what had happened as soon as I got to work (literally around the corner from where the incident occurred). They let me know the driver had been mortified as soon as it had happened, getting on the radio after (which I think I had heard). Personally, I think it was just a momentary brain fart/lapse in judgement that ultimately had no harm, so I was satisfied as it was. Of all the years I rode the bus, that was the only time I saw something like that happen; so it certainly wasn't a regular occurrence.

[MadMike]

Not in my province, but next door, passing a schoolbus can cost your license

It's the same in PA. A cop doesn't even have to see you do it. If the bus driver reports it, you're screwed.

I did it once by accident, due to the bus being stopped at the other end of a blind curve. I couldn't even see it until I was right next to it, and of course there was no stopping at that point. Luckily, nothing came of it.

[notalwaysright]

the bus being stopped at the other end of a blind curve. I couldn't even see it until I was right next to it, and of course there was no stopping at that point.

When I was in school I had to walk really far because the bus "couldn't" stop on a slight curve due to it being unsafe. My street was full of corners. But whatever, safety issue, that's fair. So for years I walked and walked. Then they built a cul-da-sac, a bunch of kids moved in, and suddenly the bus stopped exactly where they previously said they "couldn't" because of safety reasons.

I try not to think about things, I really do. It hurts my brain.