Traffic Ticket - School Bus

[octo]

Is it even possible to get out of such a fine? It seems impossible if you got caught in the act.

Given how dangerous it is to pass a stopped school bus I'd pay up and pay better attention in the future.

The only situation where I personally think that the punishment doesn't fit the crime is BigDGeek's.
Yes, sure it is the law to stop and one should stop of course but the danger is so much lower when there are several lanes and a median between the bus and a car going 35mph that there should be a lower fine compared to the extremely dangerous situation where one passes a stopped bus in the next lane.

[octo]

Originally Posted by shrapr

No matter of the time of the day, whether the warning lights are on or not, on a school zone I follow the signs.

I don't understand. So if the sign says "School speed limit 20 7:15 7:55am 2:35 3:15pm" then you drive 20mph regardless of time of day (which is technically not following the sign because the 20 limit only applies to a narrow time frame) or do you actually follow the sign (only drive the 20 limit during the designated time frame) then your "no matter of the time of the day" part is redundant.

[canadian citizen]

The OP should be glad that he didn't pass a stopped school bus with the red warning lights flashing here in Ontario. The MINIMUM fine for that offence is Two Thousand Dollars, AND a automatic one year DL suspension. And just TRY to get auto insurance after being convicted of that Highway traffic act offence up here. You will be paying through the nose for the next three years. And by the way....don't even think about driving in Ontario with out valid insurance..... the minimum fine for that is Five Thousand Dollars, or a year in jail if you can't pay the fine.

Are we serious ? Yes we are.

Makes $600 in Texas sound all most like a good deal, doesn't it ?

Jim B.

[Betty_Baylor99]

OP, I get that you're new and from out of state, but regardless of where you are from, I'm pretty sure it is illegal to pass a school bus with flashing lights anywhere else, so you can't use the excuse that you're "new in town and unfamiliar with the rules". I am also sure if you are a parent (which I'm assuming you are not) your perspective would be different.

Fines will be hefty if it involves an infraction that potentially jeopardizes the safety of children- if you speed in a school zone or pass a school bus with stop signs out, the fine will be much more than just going a couple MPH over the speed limit.

Last year, I witnessed a vehicle doing exactly what you posted AFTER my children got off the bus and crossed the street to get to the sidewalk safely. There was another little girl on the same bus stop that for whatever reason, was apparently taking too long to cross the street, and got off seconds after my kids did. A car behind the bus didn't want to wait behind the bus, and squeezed past the bus on the left and accelerated and MISSED hitting the "slow" girl who was still in the middle of crossing the street by a few feet! My daughters' bus driver is a sweet grandmotherly type, but she leaned on the horn and I've never seen her so pissed in all the years she's driven my kids. I was on my lawn and witnessed this and can honestly still see it all happening in my head again in slow motion. I made eye contact with the driver and shot the sternest look I could give and he pulled his car to finally stop when I waved for him to stop. It was then I got a good look and saw that the driver was a teenage boy. Thankfully, no one was hurt, but the bus finally drove off and the car waited until it passed before he continued on his way. It seriously could have been a whole lot worse, if the slow girl at our bus stop had moved a little quicker on the street because she would have been in the direct path of being hit by this car. I was so rattled by it that I did post about the incident on our neighborhood Next Door/HOA website. For anyone who thinks it's no big deal, keep in mind that school buses are equipped with cameras and they can easily identify your license plate so even if you're stupid enough to try sneaking by, don't be surprised if a ticket arrives in the mail after-the-fact if you attempt to do so. If the school bus in front of you is too slow for you, either leave earlier or take an alternative route.

[MTQ3000]

Originally Posted by VegasMan_72

I wish your fine was $6000 plus some jail time. As a parent people like you make me furious....

OP said he was stupid and made a mistake. None of us are perfect - I am sure he didn't pass on purpose to kill or endanger kids.

Back to the topic, in other states (but not Texas, since I haven't gotten one in Texas), I have always had success in hiring a traffic lawyer to fix speeding and other moving violation type of tickets. They can't get you off scot free, but they can reduce the fine (but not always) and change it to a non-moving violation. After you net out the lawyers' fees, you are not saving much money, if at all, but keeping the violations and points off the license is well worth it for me in light of car insurance.

I recommend you find out who handles traffic matters in the specific town/city that you got your ticket (local lawyers have a relationship - or at least acquainted - with the judges, who have to sign off on changing the ticket). Google probably is your best friend, but back in the old days, you called the State or, even better, County Bar Association's general number and get a referral.

Mick

[BigDGeek]

Originally Posted by octo

The only situation where I personally think that the punishment doesn't fit the crime is BigDGeek's.
Yes, sure it is the law to stop and one should stop of course but the danger is so much lower when there are several lanes and a median between the bus and a car going 35mph that there should be a lower fine compared to the extremely dangerous situation where one passes a stopped bus in the next lane.

Turns out that since the bus's stop arm was beyond where the median ended (even though the back of the bus was not), that made the fine legit. From where I was, I couldn't tell if the bus was entirely behind the median or not.

Whoever gets the money from those tickets made several thousand dollars from that incident. There were a lot of cars. None stopped.