Should Drivers Have to Stop For School Buses On The Opposite Side of a Divided Highway?
Everyone knows that it is illegal to drive around a school bus when it is stopped and its stop arm is out. And it is a serious matter when someone ignores the law and drives around a school bus with its stop arm extended. But do drivers have to stop for school buses when there is a divide in between the car and the bus?
Valley News Live (Fargo) has recent video of a near-incident at a school bus stop near Brooks Harbor Elementary in West Fargo. Earlier this week, a camera caught a car driving past a school bus, just before a child ran across the road to board the bus. Valley News Live reports that, even though parents are concerned for their children's safety on that particular road, police say drivers on the other side of that particular road do not legally have to stop.
The reason that drivers do not have to stop is because there is a physical divide in the road at that bus stop. According to Valley News Live, the laws in both North Dakota and Minnesota state that, when the road is not divided, a car must stop for a school bus with its stop arm extended. Get the full story and see video of the incident here.
While I understand that parents are concerned for their children's safety, is it fair to put video out there of vehicles that are not breaking the law? This video is shaming a driver over personal frustrations? I honestly would not stop for a bus that over a divide, and I don't think most people would. And I would not be happy if my car and I were unjustly being called out for being reckless driving.
Do you think cars should legally have to stop for school buses on divided roads?