(Moderators....since this involves driving, I wasn't sure whether to post it in Car Chat or Clubhouse).
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It's that time of year again. The calendar summer is just about over, and within the next week, the fall school sessions will be starting back up in the U.S. (in fact, they may have already started in some jurisdictions). Most of you CL members probably already know proper school-bus etiquette (and practice it). But, for those of you who don't, local and state traffic laws in most American jurisdictions (details vary some by state) require a
FULL stop behind a school bus when the bus is stopped, with the door open, and displaying flashing red lights and/or an extended red stop sign on the drivers' side. These full-stop laws apply behind a bus, to the side in some instances if a side-street opens into the corner of the bus-stop, and approaching the bus from the opposite direction if it is a road without a divided median. The full-stop law usually does NOT apply if you are approaching from the opposite direction and there is a median or barrier in the roadway where children usually wouldn't be crossing....but, even so, one should slow down a little, pay attention, watch for any kids crossing the median, and be ready to make quick stop if necessary. As cars get more and more automated these days, some newer luxury cars, of course, have built-in cameras that catch things like that and automatically brake if needed.
Yes, these school bus full-stop laws, just like speed-bumps, multi-way stop-signs, traffic lights, and other impediments to our driving freedom, can be annoying and sometimes cause delays when we are in a hurry to get somewhere (like home after work).
But they are there for a reason. Remember, we're dealing with kids as young as 5 or 6 years old, barely out of kindergarten (or, in some cases, still
IN kindergarten), who, without help, simply have little or no conception of how to safely cross an unregulated street full of swift-moving cars. They
HAVE to have these laws in effect to possibly save their lives.
But there are, of course, just as with everything else in life, scofflaws who think that these laws don't apply to them, although, IMO, it takes a real low-life to intentionally and with reckless disregard put young lives in danger. In some places, though, states and localities are now fighting back with side-mounted cameras on the outboard side of school buses that video-record when a vehicle ignores the busses' red lights and stop sign. The cameras activate when the red lights go on and the stop sign swings out, and deactivate when the sign folds back in and the lights go out. Of course, as with regular speed-cameras and red-light cameras, a certain amount of leeway is given in the video for those who are already braking, intending to stop, and just overrun the sign by a few feet...or if the bus itself is not at full stop when the lights and sign go on (I've seen that happen a couple of times, such as if the bus-driver partly-opens the door a little early). But, in general, it's set up to catch those who willfully drive right on by with little or no intention of stopping.
Again, depending on locality, the exact nature/circumstances of the violation, and whether any kids were hit/injured or not, penalties for passing a stopped school bus vary from a misdemeanor to a Class I Felony or worse.
