Recently I was contacted for information about passing a stopped school bus. Here’s the deal. This happened in a small town about Woodstock’s size in central Illinois. What do you think?
A man took his daughter to the elementary school and drove into the school driveway. He stopped behind a school bus. The red lights were flashing and the stop-arm was out.
It was two minutes before starting time, and he told his daughter to run for class, so that she would not be late.
No students were getting off the bus. The man sat behind the school bus for 12 minutes and saw no one on the bus – no students, no driver.
After waiting 12 minutes, he slowly pulled out and moved over to the far side of the driveway. As he pulled alongside the bus slowly, he looked and saw no one on the bus – no driver, no students.
He slowly drove on past. Three days later a town cop stopped him and wrote him a ticket for passing a stopped school bus! It seems the bus driver had complained and identified his vehicle.
He went back and talked to the school crossing guard, who told him the bus was empty and that the driver often went into the school to deliver the mail.
Because I was curious about whether that small town and its school district had entered into the required vehicular control agreement to allow the police department to enforce state traffic laws on private property (school grounds), I called both the school district office and the town police department. I got the same response from both places. “What’s a vehicular control agreement?”
Here’s the problem. If a driver is convicted of passing a stopped school bus, he loses his driver’s license for 90 days. No if’s, and’s or but’s. According to a local attorney here, even if the judge takes pity on the driver and fines him only a small amount, when the conviction gets to the DMV at the office of the Secretary of State, they suspend his license for 90 days.
The driver of the school bus has apparently said that she was on the bus the entire time, tying the shoelaces of a student. For 12 minutes? Keeping that child out of class for 12 minutes, just to tie her shoelaces?
I’ve suggested to the driver that he get a copy of the vehicular control agreement (if there is one, which I think there is not) and get his lawyer to subpoena the crossing guard and subpoena the school attendance records of the child whose shoelaces were being tied to determine whether the child was late to class that day.
What will probably happen is that the school bus driver will not show up in court at the county seat 20 miles away, and then his lawyer will ask for the case to be dismissed. In the meantime the driver has worried for 90 days about losing his license and has had to spend money for lawyer’s fees.
The town and the school district have not responded to a family member’s Freedom of Information Act Request for copies of the vehicular control agreement. Even though it’s a small town, they must have heard of FOIA and know that they must reply. But they haven’t.
The driver of the school bus may have violated state law by displaying the flashing lights and stop-arm long after the last child left the bus. If she left the lights on and the stop-arm out while she went into the school to deliver the mail, should she be cited for illegal use of school bus warning devices? Or could she even be cited if there is no vehicular control agreement? After all, the bus was on private property. And if she can’t be cited, then neither should the driver have been cited.
If the ticket for passing the school bus was not properly issued because there is no vehicular control agreement, then the City Attorney for that small town should cause the ticket to be dismissed and should step up to the plate right away and not waste more time and money of the driver to defend himself.
You never know who is interested…
3 months ago
11 comments:
How exciting! You must have just about peed your pants to be asked to give your extensive legal and law enforcment opinions. I think you should move to this downstate locale to put an immediate end to this crime rampage. Bon voyage.
That sinking feeling in your stomach? Going to court with the defense "Gus Philpott said..."
Your lack of IVC knowledge never fails to amaze me. 625 ILCS 5/11-141(a) says you must stop at "any location" when the bus has the sign out. Private property counts as any location. You don't need that contract thing. Way to go. learn the law before you give advice. thats why people go to law school.
Very clever, and said with such authority. If there were such a section as 625 ILCS 5/11-141(a) and if it read as you state it does, then you would be 100% correct. However, since there is no Section 141 in Chapter 11 (at least in the online edition of the Illinois Vehicle Code this afternoon), I'd say that keeps you from being correct on this issue. State traffic laws are enforced on the public way. DUI and Reckless Driving can be charged in a parking lot, as I understand it, but not general traffic violations.
A specific section of the Illinois Vehicle Code addresses parking lots, shopping centers, school grounds, etc. and provides a way for the property owner to get traffic laws enforced on those properties, which would not be included in "any location." Care to try again? Please quote a section that can be found in the IVC next time.
You must have gotten overheated trying to find it this WHOLE DAY. You just don't like to be wrong so you say it was made up because you are to lazy to find it yourself so you post about something you don't know about. Why do you try to act like a hardcore bad ass behind your keyboard? can you seriously answer me on this question?
625 ILCS 5/11-1414(a)
My typo Frank. Look it up again and shut up.
ARTICLE II. OBEDIENCE TO AND EFFECT
OF TRAFFIC LAWS
(625 ILCS 5/11‑201) (from Ch. 95 1/2, par. 11‑201)
Sec. 11‑201. Provisions of act refer to vehicles upon the highways‑
Exceptions.
The provisions of this Chapter relating to the operation of vehicles refer exclusively to the operation of vehicles upon highways except:
1. Where a different place is specifically referred to in a given section.
I suggest that "any location" would not meet the standard in the Illinois Vehicle Code as being "a different place ... specifically referred to ..."
Further, there is a specific section of the I.V.C. that allows school boards to contract for police services. The existence of that section means that, without the contract referred to in that section, police cannot generally enforce traffic laws on school grounds.
Very clever. And said with such authority. Probably no more accurate.
I give up. It's like talking to a wall. good luck with your flawed interpretations.
Worse than talking to a wall. At least the wall will listen.
625 ILCS 5/11‑1414) (from Ch. 95 1/2, par. 11‑1414)
Sec. 11‑1414. Approaching, overtaking, and passing school bus.
(a) The driver of a vehicle shall stop such vehicle before meeting or overtaking, from either direction, any school bus stopped at any location for the purpose of receiving or discharging pupils. Such stop is required before reaching the school bus when there is in operation on the school bus the visual signals as specified in Sections 12‑803 and 12‑805 of this Code. The driver of the vehicle shall not proceed until the school bus resumes motion or the driver of the vehicle is signaled by the school bus driver to proceed or the visual signals are no longer actuated.
This is cut and pasted from the Illinois Vehicle Code. You will see the law clearly and specifically states "at ANY LOCATION", therefore the term highway or roadway do not apply to this law. Plus, the big safety freak you are, the moron who passed the bus deserved the ticket!! He violated the law, why would you side with him?? Unless YOU are that guy!!!! The guy obviously should have exited his vehicle and approached the bus driver and provided a courtesy reminder that the stop arm was out. 3 month suspension of driving priveleges for that moron who has no regard for the safety of the children.
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