After the first day or two I have largely been ignoring this discussion. I did notice the cars driving on the wrong side but like a lot of images on the inter screen, they are reversed, mirror images. I don’t know why and don’t really care to, but you’ll see drivers on the right, or words like in a mirror.
Ny is a little nutty so I think we should just wait for the judge to sort all this out, and heaven help him or her. Sometimes i look forward to a new computer and just throwing the old one out. Too hard to salvage and just start over. I feel the same way about some jurisdictions.
I’m posting this in response to few comments asking why couldn’t I see a big bright yellow bus with its flashing lights on while it was on the opposite side of a 4 lane road.
This photo was originally taken by me.
As you can see from the picture above, I cannot see a single car on the opposite side of the road despite there are 3 lanes over there.
Vehicles on my side obstructed my view.
If you are literally a driver and hold a driver license, you should know that it’s difficult to see on the opposite side of a large road in various circumstances.
What is your pre-bus-incident driver’s record? Do you have any serious offenses, like DUI, super-excessive speed, wreckless driving? If not, this will probably all blow over with a small-ish fine, which you can shift to restaurants and their staff you normally dine at, by cooking at home for a month or two. Suggest to not needlessly over-worry. Your defense that you couldn’t see the bus is a reasonable one, esp if you have good photographic evidence to support it. It won’t necessary guarantee a free pass, depends on what the officer says and who the judge believes more.
Remember, you have two constitutionally granted advantages: first the officer must show up and allow you to question them. It’s difficult as a practical matter to get all three of you in the same place at the same time, you, judge, officer. Don’t make it easier by agreeing to allow anyone else to take their place, like if a judge pro-tem offers to replace the judge, just say “no” to that request. The second advantage is you have a right to a speedy trial. If you are asked to waive that right, don’t, insist on a speedy trial.
You made a mistake, get over it. It’s not the end of the world. Quit dragging this on and get over it. You’re not going to win in court, the best you can do is minimize the penalties at this point. No one here can help you with that.
Sorry to hear that happened. That my well work to your disadvantage. Your idea to seek legal help has merit.
Generally prior convictions cannot be used to judge the determination of guilty/not guilty. But they can be used to determine the penalty if convicted.
Somehow people are not realizing that 1 truck was in the turn lane waiting (nothing abnormal about that) on the traffic to clear, red light to turn green or whatever, the other truck was in the far right lane and could have been waiting to make a wide right hand turn (nothing abnormal about that either)… In that situation, I would have kept driving also as I am sure most would, there is no reason other than a school bus not visible from a low ride height vehicle, until it is too late…Remember if there were vehicles in front of him stopping then he would have rear ended them when he didn’t stop… Most people probably are watching their mirrors and looking ahead to make sure they don’t rear end someone more than looking across at the on coming traffic… But I guess NY thinks otherwise…
I agree, let the lawyer handle and worry about everything else… And as far as jail time, I doubt you will go to jail over this unless you are being an ass and really tick off the judge…
This is a “once in a century” confluence of events, where the driver of a car’s view became progressively more blocked by the presence of a large truck on the same side of the driver’s periphery as a bus deploying yellow and then red stop indicators, combined with the presence of a cop.
No doubt such obstructed view occurs daily, there just may not be a cop in a location to observe it. That, combined with New York’s law that one must stop for a stopped bus, even if going in opposite direction in lanes separated by the proverbial moat full of alligators.
Yes, I keep reading people saying the 2 trucks in front of the OP stopped as if they are in the middle of the road, they are not in the middle of the road, one is in a turn lane not effected by the normal flow of traffic and the other in the far right hand lane at a red light/intersection (due to a vehicle being in the turn lane) that most drivers would think is turning right…
Remember, blue C Is a regular height sedan car, boxed in on both sides by two large trucks(14 or more wheelers). Trucks 1 and 2 are stopped at this point in the illustration. T1 has recently switched into the center shared turn lane.
Blue C slowed down, as he said checking for pedestrians, then proceeded past both T1 and T2, at which point he had run the school bus. Police to follow at that point.
Truck on the left is in front of the truck to the right by about half car length or so.
This is why I got confused as to why the truck to the right stopped just about where the truck to the left stopped because I already understood why the truck to the left would stop.
So in my drawing T2 would be just abaft of T1. So I was close.
All you could see were two walls of steel to either side of you.
You edged forward slowly, scanning for pedestrians, then proceeded past the trucks - normally I hope, not too quickly, and that’s about when you realized you passed the stopped schoolie.
I might not have processed the two stopped rigs in my mind either, and also proceeded. We don’t have x-ray vision, lol!
