Matt Kirsch Posted March 7 Share Posted March 7 57 minutes ago, Rick G. said: Alrighty…. I’m back with an update. I was out early this morning running some errands locally, so for grins and giggles I decided to stop in at our local police office headquarters. I talked with one of our policeman, so this is straight from the horse’s mouth. I described my experience to him. He said on a roadway such as I described it, it is not necessary to stop in your left traffic lane beside a school bus going your same direction that is making its safety stop at a RR crossing with its yellow hazard lights flashing. Tah Dah!!! Lol… He said just use caution and good judgement regarding your speed and proceed to cross the tracks. He further elaborated that, if anything, it may create more of a traffic hazard if you do stop beside the bus, because traffic behind you may not be expecting you to come to a stop there, and you then risk getting rear-ended. I asked him why that other town’s policeman pulled me over, but at that point he did not wish to comment, or theorize, or guess as to why. So that’s it then. I did no wrong. Ask two more officers and you'll get three more, completely different, answers, ranging from you should have been shot on sight, to arrested, to ticketed. That was just one officer's "understanding/interpretation" of the law. It just happened to agree with yours. That does not mean it's correct, or how all other officers will understand/interpret the law. We have yet to have any actual law quoted here. I suspect that it is not specifically laid out in the law due to how unusual the situation is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark (EC,IN) Posted March 7 Share Posted March 7 Someone said there has not been a law quoted, that is because there is no law (in Indiana anyway). I've driven a school bus for 38 years, and the only laws I've seen were when I was loading/unloading students, with the red overheads on and the stop arm out, you are required to stop unless it's a four-lane with a median and you are traveling in the opposite direction. You did nothing wrong......the cop probably figured that out after he stopped you and rather than admit he was wrong he gave you a warning. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twostepn2001 Posted March 7 Share Posted March 7 Rick G, best thing to do is just go to your local Texas DPS office and pick up a updated Texas Driver's Handbook. They are free and once you read it you'll know for sure what is right and what is wrong. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IHC_1470 Posted March 8 Share Posted March 8 This may help answer questions. Supposed to be the laws for all states. https://www.drive-safely.net/school-bus-laws/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick G. Posted March 8 Author Share Posted March 8 11 hours ago, IHC_1470 said: This may help answer questions. Supposed to be the laws for all states. https://www.drive-safely.net/school-bus-laws/ Wow there’s a lot of activity on this thread. And even with the link here that IHC_1470 provided, bus laws by state, it still doesn’t clearly define what to do about a bus making a safety stop at a RR crossing when you have two lanes of road available to use going your direction. They really harp (rightfully so)about the conditions under which you must stop for a bus that has its alternate flashing red lights activated at the top of the bus. But virtually no info that I can see regarding passing a stopped bus at a RR crossing using your left lane when the bus is using only its yellow caution flashers. About as clear as mud. The only constant we have here is that every school bus driver on the board here that replied here says it’s OK for you to pass the bus making its safety stop at the RR crossing, if the bus is not flashing it’s overhead alternating red flashers, using your dedicated left lane while of course using caution in the process. I would think that you bus drivers certainly know what you’re talking about. Thanks guys. 😊 Based on what one of my local policeman told me, and what our bus driving members have said here, I think I shall carefully continue to pass a stopped school bus at RR crossings, provided said road has a left lane to do so in. (And of course after confirming and satisfying myself that there is not a train coming.) There can always be exceptions depending on conditions. Say for instance if you’re in the right lane behind the bus, and traffic density is such that it would be unsafe to change lanes to go around the bus, one would just remain in your lane and stop and wait behind the bus while it makes its safety stop. Same deal with fuel trucks that safety stop at RR crossings. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diesel Doctor Posted March 8 Share Posted March 8 This is the South Dakota law that is generally the same from state to state. The amber and red lights are used in all states and are universal. Rick G. found an over zealous cop that made a call, was wrong but did not write a ticket and make things worse. Rick has brought this up and a lot more people now know the law as to school busses. Some good came from this. 32-32-6. Duty of motorists to slow or stop in obedience to amber or red signal--Exceptions--Violation as misdemeanor. The operator of a motor vehicle on a highway that has less than two lanes of travel in each direction or a private road approaching a school bus that has its amber warning lights flashing shall reduce the speed of the vehicle not to exceed fifteen miles per hour and proceed past the school bus with caution. The operator of a motor vehicle approaching a school bus that has its red signal lights flashing shall make a complete stop. The stopped vehicle shall be at least fifteen feet from the school bus and shall remain stopped until the flashing red signal lights are extinguished. A lane that is designated solely for the purpose of turning is not considered a lane of travel for purposes of this section. The operator of a motor vehicle on a highway providing two or more lanes of travel in each direction does not need to reduce the speed of the vehicle when approaching a school bus that is traveling in the opposite direction if the school bus has its amber warning lights flashing. The operator of a motor vehicle on a highway providing two or more lanes of travel in each direction does not need to stop when approaching a school bus that is traveling in the opposite direction even though the school bus is stopped and has its red signal lights flashing. The operator of a motor vehicle on a highway providing two or more lanes of travel in each direction approaching a school bus that is traveling in the same direction and has its amber warning lights flashing shall reduce the speed of the vehicle not to exceed fifteen miles per hour and proceed past the school bus with caution. The operator of a motor vehicle on a highway providing two or more lanes of travel in each direction shall make a complete stop when approaching a school bus traveling in the same direction if the school bus is stopped and its red signal lights are flashing. A violation of this section is a Class 2 misdemeanor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DWF Posted March 9 Share Posted March 9 I drive school bus and have in Mn and now in Wi. When taking your drivers test for school bus you need to go through a railroad crossing. You put your hazard lights or some call them 4 way flashers on about 75 ft from the tracks, stop at the tracks and make sure you are clear, once you clear the tracks, turn the hazard lights off. If you put the top warning lights on for this while taking the test, automatic failure. DWF 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sterling B. Posted March 10 Share Posted March 10 On 3/6/2023 at 2:34 PM, jass1660 said: So basically it was a revenue producer for the city, he can take time to fight it, get it thrown out and pay court costs which likely are higher than the fine or just pay the fine. or he can show up for the court date which he'll have to do anyway most likely... if the officer didn't properly file the paperwork afterward or doesn't show up to court, out the door it goes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diesel Doctor Posted March 10 Share Posted March 10 With the prosecutors of today, most will throw out a traffic ticket if you sincerely contest the charge. They usually have bigger fish to fry with the local drug epidemic. Take a few hours and go set in on circuit court in your county. You will be amazed at what is happening right under your nose, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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