With schools back in session in BC tomorrow, it may be helpful to review laws concerning passing school buses.
Many motorists are unaware of the penalties for passing a stopped school bus, despite the efforts to raise awareness, some drivers still fail to stop — in both directions.
Before stopping a school bus for picking up or letting off children, a bus driver is required to activate amber flashing signal lamps.
Once the bus comes to a complete stop, the bus driver is required to extend the stop arm and activate the red flashing signal lights prior to opening the door of the bus.
If a school bus is stopped to pick up or let out passengers with the stop arm and signal lights activated, drivers must stop whether the bus is oncoming or you are behind the bus.
Vehicles shall not proceed until the bus has completely let out or picked up all passengers and started moving.
The hazards of ignoring these laws were made shockingly clear in the following footage:
Penalties
In BC, the first offence penalty for illegally passing school buses is $368, and it increases dramatically after that.
For drivers who receive a second ticket, it will be $668, and a third offence will run a motorist over $1,000 for that third offence alone.
Drivers will continue to receive three penalty points on top of the increased fine.
