Last week's Nouvelle featured an article in light of school bus safety week that highlights the high amount of school bus fly-bys, where vehicles fail to stop for a school bus' flashing red lights and stop arm that is extended when a child exits the bus. Even though it may seem clear to pass on the other side of the road, the child could cross in front of the bus to the other side of the road. These fly-bys are accidents waiting to happen.
Apparently this has been an ongoing issue for years, which leads us to wonder if people really don't care, or if perhaps they just don't understand the risk. Matt Richter, the director of Student Transportation Services described an incident where a few cars in a row passed through a school bus' stop sign, before one finally stopped.
Is this a sort of pack mentality? Are people assuming that if one or two or several people do it first, it must be OK to do as well? Ignorance of the law is not an excuse, and it's pretty difficult to argue not understanding the need to stop at what is essentially a stop sign.
Bus drivers' testimony is enough for police to lay a ticket, and rightly so. Police should not have to set up projects along school bus routes to catch offenders. It would likely serve as more of a deterrent anyway, as motorists tend to clean up their driving when a police car is in sight. Drivers should keep in mind the power of the bus drivers' reports, if nothing else can prevent them from committing a fly-by.
This is more than just breaking a traffic regulation, as these acts are putting children's lives at risk. The potential consequences are more than just a fine and demerit points. Will it take a tragedy to get motorists to adhere to this regulation?
