The Basics: School Bus Violations in Illinois

 Posted on December 09, 2013 in Criminal Law

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, school busses are the safest way to transport children across the country to school. The agency estimates that there are 450,000 school busses around the country helping children get to and from school each day.

Although school bus procedures and designs are created to help promote safety, there's still a lot of misunderstanding about the severity of school bus stop violations. Although some individuals believe these are minor offenses, they can be taken very seriously as criminal charges in Illinois.

The majority of children killed in between school and home are not injured or killed inside the bus. The area around the bus where children board and exit is known as the death zone because of the high risk faced by children.

The most dangerous time for accidents is when smaller children are loading or unloading, and despite traffic laws regarding school bus zones, research indicates that there are violations of these rules on a regular basis. A study from the National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation conducted a test earlier this year where they counted 85,279 stop-arm violations during one day.

Illinois School Bus Law Summary

• If the school bus is traveling on a two-lane roadway where it is stopped to pick up or drop off students, the vehicles in ALL traffic lanes must stop.
• When a school bus is traveling on a four-lane roadway where at least two other lanes are going in the opposite direction, only the lanes where traffic is moving in the same direction are required to stop.
• When a school bus is on a one-way roadway where it is stopped to pick up or drop off pupils, all lanes of traffic are required to stop.

If you have been pulled over for a school bus violation, you need legal representation immediately. Reach out to the offices of an Illinois criminal attorney today.