A Question About Traffic Laws and School Busses

Imagine a road with four lanes of traffic with a center lane. There's a car (me) in the center lane waiting to make a left turn onto a side road when a school bus arrives from the opposite direction. The bus stops before the side road and downloads the kids. The left turn is slowly made 20'-30' in front of the bus. The bus driver lays on the horn like the sacrosanct 10' safety zone has been raped; it wasn't.

So, was this a flagrant violation, legal or in a debatable grey area where any possible prosecution is going to go against a defendant anyway?

Links to applicable state law:

http://www.cobbk12.org/centraloffice/transportation/OperationStopArm.pdf

http://georgia.gov/blog/2013-08-08/school-bus-safety

What say you?

Looks like four lanes with center lane = everyone stops.

I would have waited to make the turn, but I understand why you probably didn't.

The yellow lights but no stop sign are always fun. People assume the yellow lights means they are getting ready to open the doors, but thats not always true. I don't stop till I see the sign. Many times bus drivers are nice enough to wait to deploy the doors until after a line of cars has passed.

That's definitely a gray area. I don't think you were in the wrong though.

One time I turned on to a street and a school bus was sitting there about 10-15 feet from the street corner. She had no lights on and had the door open and was talking to a parent.

I went around pulled over a half block in front of the bus to read my work order and she pulls up along side of me blaring the horn about 10 seconds later. She glares at me shaking her head giving me the "tsk tsk" hand gesture, then drives away.

I think she thought her lights were on, but they weren't and she was too close to a busy road for me to stop and wait for her to conclude her conversation.

"Except as provided in subsection (b) of this Code section, the driver of a vehicle meeting or overtaking from either direction any school bus stopped on the highway shall stop before reaching such school bus when there are in operation on the school bus the visual signals as specified in Code Sections 40-8-111 and 40-8-115, and such driver shall not proceed until the school bus resumes motion or the visual signals are no longer actuated."

Sounds like you neither met nor overtook the bus. Personally, I think a lot of these bus drivers get on a bit of a power trip, although there are a good number right around here who will wait to flip on the red lights for cars to go by and then get the sign out and retracted as quickly as their rules will allow. I do find it interesting, though, that on a 4-lane road with a middle turn lane, they make all traffic stop. Here in KY, 4+ lanes means that only the side the bus is on has to stop.

I teach DE. So long as there is no median between the opposing lanes then traffic must stop in both directions. Does not matter that you were in turn lane to make turn.

etifosi wrote: Looks like four lanes with center lane = everyone stops.

vwcorvette wrote: I teach DE. So long as there is no median between the opposing lanes then traffic must stop in both directions. Does not matter that you were in turn lane to make turn.

maybe where you are … but in NC … center lane means opposite direction traffic doesn't stop … and in his case he didn't pass a stopped school bus .. he turned across it's bows …

IMHO as long as he wasn't all that close to the front of the bus I'd say he was fine .. but free advice is worth exactly what you pay for it … LOL

Just for clarification - bus drivers in Georgia are REQUIRED to 'lay' on the horn as a warning to the students that there is a vehicle possibly about to encroach into their safety zone. Bus drivers in Georgia are encouraged NOT to blow the horn if a car passes into the zone if the students are still on the bus. Bottom line here is if the driver felt you were a possible threat, the driver did the correct thing to warn the students. By turning ahead of the bus onto a side road you may not be breaking the law but it would have been more prudent for you to wait for the driver to turn off the red lights. The driver would have probably waved you on across when it was safe to do so. Why be in such a hurry as to endanger kids?

As for four lane stopping at an opposing travel school bus stop - if there is a physical barrier - median, wall etc opposing traffic does not stop. If there is not a physical barrier - a turn lane - opposing traffic does have to stop.

68TR250 wrote: Just for clarification - bus drivers in Georgia are REQUIRED to 'lay' on the horn as a warning to the students that there is a vehicle possibly about to encroach into their safety zone. Bus drivers in Georgia are encouraged NOT to blow the horn if a car passes into the zone if the students are still on the bus. Bottom line here is if the driver felt you were a possible threat, the driver did the correct thing to warn the students. By turning ahead of the bus onto a side road you may not be breaking the law but it would have been more prudent for you to wait for the driver to turn off the red lights. The driver would have probably waved you on across when it was safe to do so. Why be in such a hurry as to endanger kids? As for four lane stopping at an opposing travel school bus stop - if there is a physical barrier - median, wall etc opposing traffic does not stop. If there is not a physical barrier - a turn lane - opposing traffic does have to stop.

you have a much greater expectation of "niceness" from school bus drivers than I see around here …LOL

he was turning well in front of the bus, well out of the range where he's supposed to stop and wait … I'll just agree to disagree with you … I'd have turned and probably waved at the driver when they laid down on the horn

re. the last paragraph …

this to me is a real problem … every state is different … I know what to do here in NC … would not have given it a second thought if driving in GA … 5 lane highway… me going the opposite direction ? I'd keep driving … as that's the law where I'm licensed … that would really piss me off to get that ticket

In reply to wbjones:

Yeah, I may be overdoing the niceness factor. I DO drive a school bus ( retired ) and was just relaying what I and several of my comrades do.

That would suck if you received a ticket for passing a stopped school bus in the opposing lane of traffic on a 5 lane with no physical barrier.

In GA it is pricey ticket and high in points. I think it was listed above about the fines and points - from the Georgia.gov website:

If a school bus driver reports you've passed a bus improperly, you'll be fined $300 for a first offense, $750 for a second offense and $1,000 for each subsequent offense during a five-year period. Law enforcement will send the fine by mail within 10 days, and the fine will indicate the time, date and location of the violation. You'll also rack up six points on your driving record for each violation.

Gwinnett county, NE of ATL has started to purchase cameras that will snap pictures of a vehicle that passes a stopped with red lights activated. http://www.wsbradio.com/news/news/local/stop-arm-cameras-finally-coming-gwinnett-school-bu/nhk4G/

I can tell you that when I was a county officer I did write those tickets when necessary.

wbjones wrote: he was turning well in front of the bus, well out of the range where he's supposed to stop and wait … I'll just agree to disagree with you … I'd have turned and probably waved at the driver when they laid down on the horn

He said 20-30 feet. That's really not very far to the front a bus disgorging kids. Especially if it's carrying elementary school students, they tend to pour out like fast moving marbles, scattering in all kinds of directions.

Datsun1500 wrote: How could you get a ticket for passing a stopped school bus when you never passed one?

I wonder if a creative prosecutor couldn't pull it off. For he did pass it from left to right.