SEGUIN, Texas – Seguin police spent Valentine’s Day afternoon cracking down on drivers who violate bus stop traffic rules.
Tanya Brown, spokesperson for the Seguin Police Department, said the undercover operation was initiated after several residents sent complaints about certain areas in the city where drivers pass buses that are stopped with a stop sign out and have red flashing lights.
“We decided to do this undercover operation for motorists who disregard the fact that they are putting children’s lives in danger,” Brown said. “We didn’t want to tell the community right off, because it is important that they stop every day, not just when we are giving a heads up and them stopping on that day. We want them to know we may be riding on school buses. We may be in unmarked cars, but we will be watching.”
Brown said time and time again, they see children in other cities get hit by cars that illegally pass stopped school buses.
“Kids are small,” Brown said. “They can’t be seen over a hood. They don’t think to stop, even though that is something we tell them to practice. They don’t see what we can see, so, yes, it can be very dangerous.”
For violators, the citation can cost them a lot of money.
“It is $500 to $1,250, and then $1,000 to $2,000 for the second citation,” Brown said.
Residents living along Highway 123 at the Seguin Manor Apartments, one of the most complained areas, said they have been frustrated about this issue for a long time.
“I have a grandson and he is 5 years old, and I am afraid that he might just run into the street while the cars are passing by,” Jaunita Sauceda said. “If I am not there, or his parents, I am afraid that if he runs out, the cars won’t see him. “
She said her experience has been the worst in the mornings.
“The buses come through and they put their lights on from a distance away and cars don’t even stop,” Sauceda said. “Everyone I know have called the cops. We just don’t know what to do. Other kids are stopping and getting off the bus. There is more children to worry about.”
Moises Lopez is a father of a special needs child and said he is also outraged when he sees cars pass by a stopped school bus.
“I feel very angry,” Lopez said. “Any kid's life is going to be in danger, and I really wish they would stop before anything bad does happen. There is no regard for a special needs bus or a regular bus. It happens all the time.”
Like Sauceda, Lopez is urging all drivers to be more obedient when it comes down to stopping for children unloading or loading on a bus.
“One day, it might be their child,” Lopez said. “So they need to look at it that way before they decide to pass a bus in this area or any other area.”
According to the National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation Services, or NASDPTS, on a single day in the 2017-18 school year, 108,623 school bus drivers reported 83,944 vehicles that illegally passed their stopped buses. That is more than 15 million violations by motorists on U.S. roads in a typical 180-day school year.
“We just want motorist to know we have zero tolerance for these kind of violations,” Brown said. “If you are behind a bus and it has flashing red lights or a stop sign out, you have to stop. If there is a barrier or divided wall that separates you from the bus, you don’t have to stop going the other direction. Yellow lights on a bus indicate the vehicle is slowing down, and just like the yellow light we follow at a stop light, you need to slow down and prepare to stop. It is a caution light.”