Ticket for not stopping for a school bus

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

It's a scam. Just like speed cameras.

Yes, I hate those scams that are meant to keep people safer, especially when it is children they’re trying to keep safer!

Then they shouldn’t be letting kids off on main streets. Buses should be going into the neighborhoods and apartment complexes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

It's a scam. Just like speed cameras.

Yes, I hate those scams that are meant to keep people safer, especially when it is children they’re trying to keep safer!

Then they shouldn’t be letting kids off on main streets. Buses should be going into the neighborhoods and apartment complexes.

Because buses are so easy to turn around on tiny neighborhood streets and in parking lots. And because the buses have all day to get kids to school and back home.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I got one for "passing" a school bus on the other side of a two lane road with a 30ft wide grass median with creek running down the middle of it! There was no possible way a kid could've gotten from the bus to in front of my car without getting in the creek up to his knees. Still got a ticket though.


It's a scam. Just like speed cameras.

The physical median between the lanes would be a deciding factor on whether or no the citation was lawful or not, dependent on state statute, of course.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I got one for "passing" a school bus on the other side of a two lane road with a 30ft wide grass median with creek running down the middle of it! There was no possible way a kid could've gotten from the bus to in front of my car without getting in the creek up to his knees. Still got a ticket though.


It's a scam. Just like speed cameras.

The physical median between the lanes would be a deciding factor on whether or no the citation was lawful or not, dependent on state statute, of course.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I got one for "passing" a school bus on the other side of a two lane road with a 30ft wide grass median with creek running down the middle of it! There was no possible way a kid could've gotten from the bus to in front of my car without getting in the creek up to his knees. Still got a ticket though.

It's a scam. Just like speed cameras.

I avoid being penalized by those scams by stopping for school buses and not speeding. It's a wonderfully effective strategy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I've got a $250 ticket for not stopping for a school bus.

Here is the situation:

There was a road with two lanes on the other side and one lane on my side.

A school bus was stopping on the other side without flashing.

Since a bus was not flashing, cars were going by on both sides at a regular speed (since there was two lanes on the other side, a school bus was not blocking the other side of the road).

Right when I was passing by, the bus started flushing with the stop sign.

If I had slammed my break hard, I was able to stop. But if there were cars behind me, there was some decent chance that it would have caused an accident.

If there was an accident, I would have blamed for stopping so abruptly and would have been probably partially responsible for the accident.

In reality, there was no car behind me, but I wouldn't have known that right when the flash light came on and I had to make a choice whether to slam the break.

The only way to contest seem to be to appear in the court. So I am thinking of just paying $250.

If anybody have similar experience, would you please share?

I guess I would be super cautious around school buses in the future, even when it seems just sitting there forever, and cars behind me might honk for slowing down.

Very similar thing happened to me, and there was a car very close behind me. I would have gotten rear ended. I was very pissed a.d paid the 250$. Oh and the road speed limit was like 40. No kid was crossing.(the bus stop is only for a complex in one side). They said it could cost 500 plus court fees, and you have to go to the traffic court in silver spring. I've convinced myself and it was better to just pay the 250 fine because it was seriously visible on the video how close the other car was, and they would have hit me and my insurance deductible or the amount of trauma or headache from getting hit would have been much worse Thunder 250. I have never been in an accident before, and I on some level know that it would have not been my fault I guess and I would not have had to pay the deductible, but this is what I'm telling myself

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I feel your pain. I was rear ended once when i stopped for a bus. I was traveling in the same direction and knew to slow down. The bus stopped abruptly and flipped out the sign without much warning (aside from the fact it existed) but I anticipated that possibility and stopped. The woman behind me didn’t. Her car was totaled whereas my Subaru had a scratch on the bumper and the catalytic converter fell off. I barely knew I was hit. I was mad at the bus driver for not pulling over when there was a large parking area where she could have pulled over rather than impeding the flow of traffic. Your concern about the prospect of causing an accident is valid, but ultimately you’re responsible for stopping for a school bus. I did not receive any type of citation for stopping and I have no idea if the lady who hit me did or not. I told the police it was the bus drivers fault.

Actually, it sounds as though it wàs the fault of the driver who rear ended you. It is on the driver to maintain enough distance to be able to stop if the vehicle ahead stops unexpectedly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I got one for "passing" a school bus on the other side of a two lane road with a 30ft wide grass median with creek running down the middle of it! There was no possible way a kid could've gotten from the bus to in front of my car without getting in the creek up to his knees. Still got a ticket though.


It's a scam. Just like speed cameras.

The physical median between the lanes would be a deciding factor on whether or no the citation was lawful or not, dependent on state statute, of course.

If it's not a cement median, it doesn't count. I got a ticket on Leeburg Pike where buses definitely don't allow kids to cross to the opposite side because of heavy traffic and multiple lanes on both sides. There was a cement median, then a wide painted middle strip and back to a cement median. Because I passed in the painted section I was ticketed. I went to court, paid a fine, had the charge reduced and got no points because I had a good driving record. No matter how big the road is, if it's not a highway, assume you should stop.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I got one for "passing" a school bus on the other side of a two lane road with a 30ft wide grass median with creek running down the middle of it! There was no possible way a kid could've gotten from the bus to in front of my car without getting in the creek up to his knees. Still got a ticket though.


It's a scam. Just like speed cameras.

The physical median between the lanes would be a deciding factor on whether or no the citation was lawful or not, dependent on state statute, of course.

If it's not a cement median, it doesn't count. I got a ticket on Leeburg Pike where buses definitely don't allow kids to cross to the opposite side because of heavy traffic and multiple lanes on both sides. There was a cement median, then a wide painted middle strip and back to a cement median. Because I passed in the painted section I was ticketed. I went to court, paid a fine, had the charge reduced and got no points because I had a good driving record. No matter how big the road is, if it's not a highway, assume you should stop.

Most jurisdictions, there has to be a barrier that stops cars from crossing. A guard rail, Jersey walls, even batons and cones count. Painted stripes do not.

[Anonymous]

You should have known whether there was anyone behind you. As a driver it's your obligation to know your surroundings.

[Anonymous]

These situations actually cause me driving anxiety! You really can't win.

[Anonymous]

I have never, not once in my entire life, seen a bus that stopped with its red lights flashing that did not have the yellow lights flashing prior to that. I think the lights are actually designed that way--the driver flips on the yellows and then the reds come on automatically when the door opens. If you did not notice the yellow lights, then it is your fault for not paying attention to your surroundings. If you think the bus didn't flash them for long enough, you were probably driving too fast, and you still weren't paying attention to your surroundings--you should have at least observed that there was a school bus in the right lane slowing down and been on alert. School buses don't just screech suddenly to a halt like a cartoon, and they certainly cannot stop faster than your small passenger vehicle, so there's no excuse.

I get stuck on about a third of my morning commutes, waiting for an MCPS bus to pick up ES students on the main road near my house. It's not the bus's fault for stopping on a main road, it's my fault for not leaving a minute earlier if I wanted to avoid it. I know it's there, it comes at the same time every day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

It's a scam. Just like speed cameras.

Yes, I hate those scams that are meant to keep people safer, especially when it is children they’re trying to keep safer!

With all the dash cam footage I have amassed of loaded school buses screwing up (running red lights, cutting off cars, etc.) I know this has nothing to do with the safety of children. Just a money grab. But thanks for playing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

It's a scam. Just like speed cameras.

Yes, I hate those scams that are meant to keep people safer, especially when it is children they’re trying to keep safer!

With all the dash cam footage I have amassed of loaded school buses screwing up (running red lights, cutting off cars, etc.) I know this has nothing to do with the safety of children. Just a money grab. But thanks for playing.

As long as you stop for stopped school buses, and don't speed, I really don't care why you think the cameras are up. Extra bonus for you: none of the grabbed money will have been grabbed from you!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Don't they flash yellow before flashing red? You should have had time to stop...

This.

End story.