The chances of getting a ticket for passing a bus is very high especially if it’s a school bus. Every State in the United States has laws that guide all motorists against school buses. These laws are meant to safeguard school children from other road users.
Because a child’s mind is very delicate, he/she may decide to cross the road without looking. As a road user, you may not see the child to use your brakes and end up hitting the child.
Therefore, the driving rules around school buses is to stop such incident from occurring. If you however fail these rules, what are your chances of getting a ticket?
Your chances of getting a ticket for passing a school bus is very high if the school bus driver or other road users reports the incident to the police. However, you may not get a ticket if the violation is never reported.
What are the Chances of Getting a Ticket for Passing a Bus?
Your chances of getting a ticket for passing a bus is very low if its an ordinary bus used for commercial purposes or a school bus that is converted and registered for personal use.
However, your chances of getting a ticket for passing a school bus is very high if the bus driver reports the violation to the police. The bus driver will have to prepare a signed, written report indicating the violation and how it occurred.
While making the report, the school bus driver must include:
- The identity of the violator
- The time and location of the violation
- Identification of the vehicle (whether it’s a car, truck, motorcycle etc.)
- The license plate number, and
- The color of the vehicle
He is also expected to provide information on whether the school bus is equipped with a side stop signal arm enforcement system.
The reporting should be done within 48 hours after the violation occurred and to the police department having authority to exercise police power in that particular location.
However, other road users can also report a car that speedily passes a stopped school bus with its signals and stop sign out. The person making the report will have to provide the information written above.
If he/she has a dash cam that recorded the incident, he can submit it to the police as an evidence to prove he’s not making a false claim.
Be that as it may, if the violation was never reported, you are likely not to get a ticket; meaning that your chances of getting a ticket for passing a school bus is low if the violation is never reported.
A school bus driver has to report the violation to the police before a ticket is issued to you. If he fails to report the incident, you are likely not to get a ticket.
However, there are exceptions to this. First of all, it is hard for a school bus driver not report such violation, secondly, most school buses has cameras that records inside and outside of the bus.
At the end of the day, the bus driver will have to get the footage and make the report needed to get the ticket issued to you, making it possible to get a ticket in the mail for passing a school bus.
Nonetheless, if a trooper is nearby and witnessed the incident, you will be pulled over and issued a ticket. If the cop was not able to issue the ticket at the moment, he will have it mailed to you.
The violation can also be reported by a concerned citizen who felt bad about your actions especially if the incident nearly caused a crash. He/she is just being a good citizen.
When to Get a Ticket for Passing a School Bus?
Your chances of getting a ticket for passing a school bus is high when:
1. The School Bus is Not in Motion
As a driver, you will obviously get a ticket for passing a school bus if the bus is not in motion rather, stopped to load or unload school children.
When you are approaching a school bus and noticed that it is not moving and you can clearly see school children entering or going out of the bus, you should never pass the bus.
You have to wait until the bus is done loading or unloading the children, with the warning signals off, then you can pass without violating the law.
2. The School Bus Stop Sign is Out
If the school bus stop signs is out and you pass the bus regardless, you will obviously get a ticket in your mail. This is one of the moments when you should never pass a school bus.
Anytime you are driving and see a stopped school bus with its stop sign out, whether you see any school children around or not, please do not pass the bus.
The stop sign is an indicator for you to stop. Refusing to yield and stop is like running a red light. You will get a ticket for that.
3. The School Bus is Flashing Light
The same rule is applied to when the school bus light is flashing. The light is bright enough to remind you to stop. You can’t be distracted enough not to be reminded by the light.
Therefore, anytime you’re approaching a school bus with the light flashing and the stop sigh out, please do not pass the bus otherwise you will get a ticket.
You cannot get such ticket dismissed in the name of not seeing the light and the stop sign. Before a school bus driver gets to a point where he/she is either picking or dropping a child, he/she must have activated the flashing light 50 feet before the stop.
4. The Violation is Reported
As stated earlier, the violation has to be reported before a ticket is issued to you. If the violation is never reported, you are likely not to get a ticket but this is hardly the case as it is the duty of the bus driver to ensure he reports such violation.
Therefore, you should never pass a school bus when:
- You are behind the school bus and the stop sign is out
- You are approaching the school bus from the front and the stop sign is out
- The school bus stop sign is out
- The bus warning light is flashing
- The bus is loading or unloading school children
- You are on a two-lane road that has a central turning lane
- You are on a the same lane on a road with a divided roadway
However, you can comfortably pass a school bus when you are on a divided roadway with a physical barrier with the bus on the other side of the road and headed in opposite directions, and when the school bus is in a loading zone off the main road where school buses park to load and unload.
School Bus Ticket Price
The ticket price for passing a school bus is usually high in all states, ranging between $250 – $400 and higher if you are a multiple offender. You may also get a demerit point (5 or 6) and a jail time.
How Do I Know I Will Get a Ticket for Passing a School Bus?
You will know that you are getting a ticket for passing a school bus when the bus is not in motion with the stop sign and warning light on. If you don’t know the rules, you may not know until the ticket arrive your mail.
Final Thoughts
The delicate mind of school children is innocent and needs to be protected. There are traffic laws towards school bus that needs to be followed at all cost. Failure to obey these rules will get you a ticket and may even get more penalties if it leads to a crash.
A road user has a high chance of getting a ticket for passing a bus when he pass a school bus that has its stop sign and flashing light on. The bus driver will report the violation to the police who will end up issuing a ticket to the violator. However, if the incident was never reported, the perpetrator may likely never get a ticket.
