Comments on: When should you stop for a school bus?

By: SCOTT MARZORATI

SCOTT MARZORATI — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 21:46:56 +0000

thanks for the info i was issued a ticket for this i was heading south on Ft appache and the bus was heading north on Ft Appache whic is three lanes wide each way and has a concrete divider in the middle the nearest croswalk is about 200 yards from where the bus was stopped
once again i will take this infromation to court with me

By: James

James — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 12:50:59 +0000

**sigh**… it was supposed to be “seemingly”, sorry, my internal spell check / proof reading system isn’t quite functioning yet.

By: James

James — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 12:49:07 +0000

Kathy, this seems like it really shouldn’t be a big problem here in Las Vegas. I grew up in Ohio (the land of a thousand railroad crossings) and by law, the bus has to come to a complete stop so the driver can look and listen for an oncoming train before crossing. Normally (at least when I used to ride a school bus) this only takes a few seconds.

I’d have to say that if you’re running so late that you’re considering passing a school bus under these circumstances, you may want to leave a few minutes earlier. Besdies, with the way our traffic lights are programmed in this city – to seeming hold up piles and piles of cars while simultaneously giving a green light to empty lanes for several minutes – the 5 seconds you would shave off by passing a bus at a train track would be eaten up by a red light somewhere else along your commute.

Also, from a legal standpoint, I believe if you look at the road markings, you’ll find that most (if not all) railroad crossings are marked with a double-yellow line indicating a “no passing zone”, ergo passing anyone stopped there would be illegal.

By: kathy

kathy — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 14:40:29 +0000

can you pass a school bus at a railroad crossing , if they do not have there lights and stop signs out but are stopped with the door open

By: Max

Max — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 18:06:14 +0000

What’s even more annoying…is when people…periodically insert an ellipsis…in their message…apparently because…they don’t know what it means…

By: Bill

Bill — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 15:12:25 +0000

Morning Dayna,
I caught your “White Line” segment this morning and hope you post this there as I couldn’t find the thread. I feel it should be noted that many people cross those lines because the person/people in front are entering the expressway far too slowly. The right lane “speed limit” all over the valley SEEMS to be 55 to 75 MPH. When people enter the expressway @ 40 to 50 MPH, being too careful, saving fuel, whatever, this causes a frustrating safety concern.(i.e. getting rear ended) and people will pass them trying to get up to the “speed limit”. These folks need to PUSH on the gas pedal a little harder to smooth out the transition from secondary street speeds to expressway speeds. Theres my 2 cents worth, hopefully I won’t get change back.:}

By: Bus Boss

Bus Boss — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 23:40:57 +0000

James, as an Asst. Mgr & Dispatcher for a school bus company in NH, I’d call the bus terminal and make note of it to them. I’m not saying the driver of the bus was at fault, but on occasion kids do stupid things and the drivers are caught by surprise too. If it’s a common occurence with this bus in that spot, the school district & bus company need to enforce crosswalk use. In the main town of this school district there are crosswalks up and down mainstreet (hardly Vegas though). We stop just before the crosswalks and the children are forced to use the crosswalks in this downtown area. Before crossing though, the driver checks all mirrors for potential knuckleheads (usually Suburu / Volvo drivers) passing the bus on either side, or coming at the bus looking like they’re not about to stop. When it looks clearn the driver gives the kids the “thumbs up” to cross, telling them it’s clear. (We’re above the horizon line with an unprecidented view of all)
In the case at that intersection, the children should be forced to wait at the crosswalk and use the electronic traffic device. Your tax dollars didn’t get dumped into all that for nothing.
POV privately owned vehicle) drivers who see funky things like that where an accident might occur should always get the “fleet number” on the bus. Usually a 1 to 5 digit number 5″ or 6″ high on the sides, front & rear. It helps the bus office figure out which driver that is they need to discuss it with and develop a safer situation. School bus drivers aren’t in the business of killing kids, 110% the opposite.

(Sorry, ran across this blog looking something else up, felt the need to post)

By: James

James — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 19:32:33 +0000

Here’s a little light on the divided highway/roadway issue: A few days ago I was headed to work on my motorcycle. I realized I had forgotten something and headed back home. I was making a left turn from eastbound Ann to northbound Jones and a school bus was stopped on southbound Jones, letting kids off. As there is a median between the northbound and southbound lanes, I did not stop, even though other cars behind me did. I’m sure someone probably called in to report me, and to make matters worse (for people who don’t know the law) there was a kid crossing the street, just walking right across the median, nowhere near the crosswalk that the city kindly provided at the corner, complete with several hundred dollars worth of pavement markings and a very nice, expensive flashing walk/don’t walk signal system.

Here’s the catch, if there would have been an accident, the person at fault would not have been me. As we see from the NRS Dayna posted above, I was not breaking the law. The kid, on the other hand, was doing something called Jaywalking, which is illegal. When a jaywalker is struck by a vehicle, the official cause of the accident is listed as “Pedestrian Error”, and -as long as the jaywalker is still alive- they get issued a traffic ticket for causing an accident (most of the time this happens inside the hospital where they are on the mend). Since an accident was involved, the jaywalking ticket is doubled from its normal $190 to $380. Ouch. Talk about insult to injury!

Lastly, I don’t know this for sure, but I’ve been told that school bus drivers are supposed to monitor the kids and not let them jaywalk like that… but you know how kids are these days now that it seems like discipline at home is a thing of the past and every parent wants to be their kids friend instead of being a parent… but that’s another blog.

By: Dayna Roselli

Dayna Roselli — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 17:08:27 +0000

I don’t know why- but I don’t think Nevada has that rule… it’s not in the NRS listed above. It is very wise to do that though. I think common sense comes in to play here. Don’t you? I just hope everyone does the right thing.

By: Mia

Mia — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 18:18:44 +0000

Hi-
Great topic, but you left out the part of on the road if you stop at a red light and in front of you is a police car – you should stop no more than 50 feet from the car, in case they have to “jump and run”. There is also a requirement for Fire Trucks & Ambulances – you must stay 100 feet back.

Does Nevada include a requirement to stay 20 feet back from a school bus with flashing red lights? I have always kept my distance. I only see a few states that require you to stay back.

Any idea why?
Thanks!