Way to almost kill a kid!

[LillFilly]

I was stepping-out my front door as the nearby school was letting out. There's a posted speed of 15mph in the area during this time. I heard a drawn-out HOOOONNNKKKK as I closed my door. When I turned I caught sight of a green SUV that had just BLOWN BY a bus as it had it's yellow arm out, stop sign out, and lights flashing and this scared-looking kid standing in the street! It was so fast there was no chance of seeing the plate, but they must have been doing 30! I hope I see this car again; it's my street and I want it to be safe dammit!

[Midorikawa]

Ugh. I used to live near an elementary school, and used to ride my bicycle past it daily to get to college a few years back. I can't tell you how many times I or some poor kid was almost hit because some jackass blew through the stop sign where kids walking to school cross at doing 35 or more. While I hate to think that it'd take them killing a kid before they'd figure out that speed limits are for other people's safety just as much as yours, and stop signs aren't just suggestions, that's probably what it'd take.

[Sapphire Silk]

Ugh. I used to live near an elementary school, and used to ride my bicycle past it daily to get to college a few years back. I can't tell you how many times I or some poor kid was almost hit because some jackass blew through the stop sign where kids walking to school cross at doing 35 or more. While I hate to think that it'd take them killing a kid before they'd figure out that speed limits are for other people's safety just as much as yours, and stop signs aren't just suggestions, that's probably what it'd take.

That is what it took here in North Carolina. We had several incidents statewide of kids getting KILLED by people blowing by school buses with their red lights on that the cops started cracking down. Some counties are installing cameras on the stop arms that will get pics of passing cars so they can be tracked down and prosecuted.

[Kanalah]

This actually happened to a friend of mine in HS. He lived across the street from the school and would walk to school. He was walking across the street in the crosswalk one morning and one lady was going 45 in a 25mph school zone. She hit him and he rolled up onto the windshield then onto the pavement.

He was in the hospital for the rest of the school year. (This happened in September) The funny/sad this was, he was looking forward to going back to school since he missed a lot of time the previous year since he was in the hospital for a boating accident over spring break.

I think after that his parents just drove him every morning.

[Raveni]

Some counties are installing cameras on the stop arms that will get pics of passing cars so they can be tracked down and prosecuted.

Not a good place to put them considering how many of those arms get knocked off by said passing cars.

[ditchdj]

Some woman around here hit a kid doing this. He was injured not too badly, but the woman got arrested and charged with reckless driving.

[SuperDan]

In Indiana, while most traffic offenses fall under various degrees of "infraction," violating a school bus stop arm is a class B misdemeanor. Damage any property or injure a person and it becomes a class A misdemeanor. This means the fine is usually three times the fine for speeding or disregarding a stop sign. (And we have mandatory court costs here, so whatever the fine is, you get to add another $114.50 to it.) Also, the law has relaxed slightly on identifying the driver violating the stop arm. It used to be that a police officer had to witness the violation first hand. Now, the bus driver can report a violator to the police as long as the bus driver is able to positively identify both the vehicle and the driver involved in the stop arm violation.

Not that I'm sure anybody here needs reminding, but the rules pertaining to a school bus stop arm in Indiana (and as far as I'm aware, in all states) are that traffic in ALL lanes must stop when the stop arm is extended. Traffic in the same direction as the bus should stop at the rear of the bus, and traffic in the opposite direction should stop a reasonable distance before the bus, as to allow children to cross the street a safe distance in front of the bus. It doesn't matter how many lanes the street is. The only exception is if the street on which the bus is stopped has a median that cannot be driven across (cement barrier, grassy island, etc), and in such a case only the traffic traveling the same direction as the bus needs to stop. Traffic from the other direction should proceed with caution.

[Kogarashi]

NThe only exception is if the street on which the bus is stopped has a median that cannot be driven across (cement barrier, grassy island, etc), and in such a case only the traffic traveling the same direction as the bus needs to stop. Traffic from the other direction should proceed with caution.

And last I checked, in New York (according to my Driver Ed instructor), even the oncoming traffic on a divided highway has to stop. Fun times.

[ADoyle90815]

That's also the case in California, where if the stop arm on a school bus is out, all lanes have to stop. As for crossing guards, one local crossing guard was punched by some EW who didn't want to stop, and who is rightfully facing serious charges.
http://articles.latimes.com/2010/dec...guard-20101201

[Andara Bledin]

That may be the law, but not even the local cops follow it around here.

^-.-^

[Mytical]

Anybody who passes a bus with it's stop sign out..should get in trouble. That means they are picking up children, or dropping them off. It can be very difficult to see traffic when getting off. You can wait a few minutes while the children get safely on or off.

[PepperElf]

That is what it took here in North Carolina. We had several incidents statewide of kids getting KILLED by people blowing by school buses with their red lights on that the cops started cracking down. Some counties are installing cameras on the stop arms that will get pics of passing cars so they can be tracked down and prosecuted.

ooo i like that idea. very creative
and the fuckers get what they deserve if they get hammered over being shitheads

[Ironclad Alibi]

From a recent Washington Post article:

Virginia law on passing a stopped school bus has been clear for 40 years. Here - read it yourself:

"A person is guilty of reckless driving who fails to stop, when approaching from any direction, any school bus which is stopped on any highway, private road or school driveway for the purpose of taking on or discharging children."

Yes, drivers must stop a school bus which is, er, stopped.

Wait. Is something missing there?

Indeed. The preposition "at" was deleted in 1970 when the law was amended, the statute's history shows. And a man who zipped past a school bus, while it was picking up children with its lights flashing and stop sign extended, was found not guilty recently by a Fairfax County Circuit Court judge.

Hopefully that will be fixed real soon.

When I was a wee lad in Florida, one day a driver decided to pass a stopped school bus at the place I boarded the bus. The big problem was he came from behind the bus, and passed on the door side of the bus. Fortunately, no one was hit.