Yup!
It worked for me, as a kid.
That can be a reality, but the area where I saw the phenomenon of kids waiting in the idling SUV-- 100 ft or less from their home, with Mommie–has no sidewalks, no road shoulders, and is extremely rural. It’s simply not safe to walk on those roads, and as a result, the bus picks kids up directly in front of their home.
Hello everyone. I would like to hear your opinion on my “just now “ interaction with my local police department regarding to stopping for school buses.
Below is our interaction:
ME: I’m here to stress my concern with you regarding stopping for a school bus. This issue has made my driving experience extremely uncomfortable these past few days. I feel like the law has made it incredibly unsafe for motorists than it is intended otherwise.
Police officer: ok. Go on.
ME: The law requires motorists to stop for school buses on divided highway. This issue right here is a huge one. I’m asking you to put yourself in my shoes to get a glimpse of the danger I’m being put in. Say, I’m driving on interstates. I’m in the right lane. Vehicles are traveling next to me in the left lane. The road isn’t straight. It’s curvy. My car is low. I cannot see over the next side of the highway because of vehicles blocking my view. I’m constantly checking for available rooms between cars to the left so I can see over the other side, while at the same time I must constantly keep my eyes in front of me to avoid rear ending someone.
Another scenario. If I saw a school bus on the other side of the highway with everyone traveling 65 to 75mph on my side and I attempted to stop while those huge trucks traveling behind me, there is no doubt I’ll be dead. I’m not kidding. I’ll certainly be killed. I would like you to advise me with this concern, please.
Police officers: In the specific circumstances that you have laid out, you would not be required to stop for school bus. The only time the law requires that you stop for a school bus that is not traveling in the same direction you are is, if the road is just by pavement markings. For example, a route only separated by a double yellow line in spots. In that circumstance, you would have to stop for a school bus traveling in the opposite direction as you. When the road is divided by a cement barrier or a grass median you do not have to stop for a school bus on the opposite direction of travel.
Interaction ended.
Now, from the book I studied, it says all vehicles must stop for a school bus, even if it’s a divided highway. I mentioned this to both police officers and they assured me this is not the case.
So I’m still confused about this whole thing. And I should believe the officers know the rules.
So, what’s your opinion guys ?
Did you show the officer a Google overhead view of the exact intersection/place where you got the ticket?
Where I got the ticket he said I would need to stop.
The main topic I brought to their attention is divided highways. I’m always on the interstates, and I find it incredibly difficult to scan for school buses as described above.
It gives me anxiety and is why I went to the police department. I’m surprised that they said I don’t need to stop on interstate highway despite the book saying I need to.
School buses don’t unload passengers on interstate highways, it was a trick question.
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Sorry, I misunderstood. You aren’t asking about your specific citation; instead you are asking a hypothetical question.
I seem to mix up interstate and highway quite often.
So could it mean I need to stop on a divided highway but not on an interstate highway? Was that the cop saying maybe?
No problem, George 
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Interstates require vehicles to exit for parking/unloading. “Divided roadway” would include city and county roads. We have boulevards with large medians, but pedestrians run wild across traffic.
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Interstate highways do not have any stop signs between Point “A” and point “Z” where you would exit… When you exit, there may be either a tollbooth or a Stop Sign, but at this point, you are no longer on the Interstate Highway. The Concept of an Interstate Highway was developed under President Dwight Eisenhower, who saw the need to be able to mobilize quickly as the Cold War grew warmer…
Eisenhower wrote in his presidential memoirs, “During World War II, I had seen the superlative system of German autobahn–[the] national highways crossing that country.”
And consequently, we can now get from the East Coast to the West Coast in a matter of days, not weeks. Personally, I like the back roads…
I’ll just say the police don’t always know the laws. I never could get a straight anwer on a question but now we have 12 year old kids zooming all over on the roads with electric scooters. Guess they still don’t know.
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Yep, LEOs too get confused. There is a Death Circle, AKA roundabout, where accidents happen, deputies have been known to write citations on the wrong driver.
That is true, but the idea had apparently been gelling in his brain since 1919, when he was an official War Department observer during the US Army’s first cross-country convoy. It took a total of 62 days for the convoy to drive from DC to San Francisco, and the abominable (or, frequently absent) roads caused many mechanical breakdowns along the way. Ike’s own Presidential Library has this to say on the topic:
As an observer for the War Department, Lt. Col. Eisenhower learned first-hand of the difficulties faced in traveling great distances on roads that were impassable and resulted in frequent breakdowns of the military vehicles. These early experiences influenced his later decisions concerning the building of the interstate highway system during his presidential administration.
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Suggest to consult with your attorney before doing this. Remember the biggest advantage the traffic-ticket defendant has in court is the default victory; i.e. if the officer doesn’t show up on time the case is usually dismissed, default victory for the defendant. By questioning the officers prior to the trial, that may give them an incentive to show up.
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Thanks for the advice. Will make note of this.
I went to my local police department though. I was ticketed in a different town. So hopefully the police who ticked me isn’t assigned to my area.
You’re making a mountain out of a molehill. You don’t need to constantly scan for school buses across traffic. Where you got into trouble was the traffic to your left was stopped. This should be a clue there is something going on and to slow down and look. Not just continue driving past that line of stopped traffic at speed. If it’s not a school bus, there could easily be another hazard like a left turner, pedestrian or some idiot doing something unexpected. People in those stopped lines have a tendency to pull out into the freely moving lane without looking as well. So it’s best to proceed with caution. When you get near the front of that line, time to look for the reason. If they’re all just waiting to turn left, you proceed on. You lost a few seconds being cautious. You are not going to get killed if you slow down gradually versus getting to the hazard and slamming on your brakes…don’t over react or come up with wild scenarios…
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Unfortunately, our interstate system was NOT based on the German Autobahn. It was based on a 1939 General Motors diarama that they took to the car shows of the era. The big difference between the two was that GM envisioned the interstates going through the cities where the German Autobahn goes around the cities and towns.
Today, the autobahn does go through the cities, but only because the cities built themselves around the autobahn, same way the urban areas develop around the interchanges of our freeways.
As I kid saw the changes first-hand. Before, driving to a shopping town 50 miles away was an all-day experience, had to drive through all the towns in between. 3- 4 hours of driving each way. The new Interstate was set off to the side about 2 miles from all the towns, took about an hour each way.
It was well into the late 60s before I 35 and I 90 were complete. I’d always have two lane going to South Dakota until the last 60 miles. They even have a gold strip of concrete like the golden spike when east met west finally somewhere in there. Actually I still often take the two lane which is mostly four lane now because it is less boring and more places to stop. Once you get out of worthington the hog smell is gone.
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