Complaints are on the rise about vehicles illegally passing stopped school buses and so is ticketing of the violators.
Cuero Chief of Police Steven Ellis said the police department has received complaints from school bus drivers about vehicles passing them when their red flashing lights are activated.
“When these reports are received, patrol units and unmarked units are assigned to patrol those problem areas during pick up and drop off times,” Ellis said. “Those who ignore the flashing lights on school buses face fines of up to $1,250 plus court costs and neither defensive driving nor deferrals are offered.”
Ellis added that the consequences for violators causing an injury or other accident while passing a school bus when it is prohibited can be much more severe than a fine, including criminal charges.
In Texas, drivers must stop for a school bus with flashing red lights and an extended stop sign, regardless of direction on twolane roads, but on multi-lane divided highways (with a physical barrier/median), only traffic behind the bus stops, while traffic opposite the bus can proceed cautiously, Ellis said. But here are no roadways within the city limits of Cuero that would allow a vehicle passing in the opposite direction to proceed, he said.
“Officers will continue to work with our school district to make sure our students are safe. Just because you may not see a patrol unit in the area does not mean you are not being watched,” Ellis said. “Officers may even be assigned to ride along on buses and report violators to patrol units in the area. It is not worth the risk of harming a child to speed up your commute, no matter what the circumstances are.”
The problem appears to be confined to Cuero. DeWitt County Sheriff’s Department Lt. Bethany Hobbs said that she reviewed calls for service reports for the past six months and saw none related to stopped school bus violations coming from Yorktown and other parts of the county.
