The Maryland Vehicle Administration describes the danger zone of a school bus as the 10 feet immediately surrounding the bus, which is where children that have recently exited the bus are most likely to be injured. The majority of children that are killed in traffic accidents, after exiting buses, are generally from five to seven years old.
It is a moving violation in every jurisdiction to pass a school bus that has red lights flashing and the stop sign or arm extended. The extended arm signifies that students are exiting the vehicle. This is true for vehicles moving in either direction of the bus on a two lane road or when there is no division between the lanes.
It is important to be mindful that the center lane does not constitute a true division between the lanes. Additionally, when there is a median or another physical barrier separating the lanes of traffic, vehicles that are moving in the opposite direction are not required to stop for a stopped school bus.
Previously, bus drivers and crossing guards had the ability to report drivers that were not in compliance with the law, but if they had insufficient information for the police to track the driver, nothing was done. In an effort to limit the number of accidents involving children exiting school buses, Montgomery County government officials plan to add 100 cameras to the county’s buses. As of October 2015, only 25 buses were equipped with cameras.
The cameras are designed to record vehicles that pass stopped school buses when the lights are flashing and the stop sign is extended. The bus cameras are reviewed by an automated traffic enforcement unit, which is similar to traffic lights that are equipped with cameras, and traffic citations are mailed to the registered owner of the vehicle.
The penalty associated with this violation is $125 fine when the citation is generated by the camera; however, no points are accumulated on the driver’s record with the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). If a police officer witnesses the traffic violation and issues the citation, the fine is increased to $570 and the driver accrues three points on their DMV driving record.
Criminal Defense Group attorney Koria Stanton commented, “Motorists always need to be exceedingly careful of school buses, especially at the start of the school year when new, inexperienced drivers are learning their routes.”
You must be logged in to post a comment Login