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Can you get charged for passing a school bus without it's stop sign out?
Anonymous4 views3 answers
The bus was pulled over to the shoulder like it was parking to talk to a lady, but it did not have its stop sign out. Not thinking about it, I went around the bus. A police officer pulled me over and wrote me a ticket. He informed me that the lights were flashing, but I was correct in the fact that he did not have his stop sign out. I was wondering if it was illegal to pass a school bus when it's lights are flashing, but its stop sign is not out.
Unfortunately, if the lights were flashing, you can be convicted of this charge. Depending on your driving record and how many points you have, you may want to hire an attorney to see if they can negotiate with the commonwealth attorney in order to reduce the charge to one with no points or less points.
The number of elements needed to be proven for this type of charge would surprise most non lawyers. However, the statute does not require that the arm be extended. The law require For any new bus placed into service on or after July 1, 2007, such warning devices, at a minimum, shall include a nonsequential system of red traffic warning lights, a warning sign with flashing lights, and a crossing control arm such that when the bus door is opened, the red warning lights, warning sign with flashing lights, and crossing control arm are automatically activated.
Failure of a warning device to function on any school bus shall not relieve any person operating a motor vehicle from his duty to stop as provided in §§ 46.2-844 and 46.2-859.
Good luck, Dan Lopez
Can you get charged? Of course. You were charged. The issues is can you be found guilty, Few but experienced traffic lawyers will know the details of the obscure statute that governs--recommend you discuss the matter with a traffic law attorney in your area. My gut tells me that the absence of the sign is not going to offer you safe harbor--lights flashing is the default as I recall, but it’s not my domain. An experienced traffic lawyer should be able to improve your situation--especially if the officer did not witness the event directly.
