Driver decides to skip around traffic at school bus stop, gets instant karma [Video]
If you don’t drive in the United States with any regularity, you might scratch your head the first time you see a bright-yellow school bus stop an entire street with a little folding sign. It’s as good as a red light, and ignoring one can land you on the wrong side of a set of police lights. Like this driver, who shrugged off the immutable safety rule and passed over a double-yellow line just before the stop sign retracted.
A driver ran out of patience at a school bus stop just before traffic started again– and now they’re paying for it
A popular social media video with nearly 50,000 likes shows a double-yellow line separating two lines of traffic somewhere in New York City. From the perspective of the dash cam, viewers can see a Cadillac SRX stopped in oncoming traffic to the left. Behind it, a white Hyundai Elantra waits not-so-patiently. The reason they’re stopped? No, it’s not NYC’s legendary traffic. It’s a school bus.
The school bus has its folding stop sign extended and its lights flashing. It’s the unmistakable signal to stop and allow the bus to load or unload children. But that clearly wasn’t enough to quell the impatience of the Hyundai driver. The dash cam video shows the Elantra pulling around the Cadillac, crossing a double-yellow line in the process.
Perhaps the driver was just inattentive. In addition to the flashing red lights and bright yellow, the SUV directly behind the Elantra was a police vehicle. One second later, the police SUV is flashing its lights and prompting the little white sedan to pull over.
It’s a pretty serious rule. Not just for New Yorkers, but for motorists in all 50 states. In the Empire State, a school bus with flashing lights and an extended sign signals all traffic to stop on two-lane roads, multi-lane highways, and divided highways, regardless of direction of travel.
As for consequences, violators can expect a fine of up $400, up to 30 days in jail, and five points on their driving record for a first offense, per the NY DMV. A third offense in three years can land you in jail for six months. You can check out the video for yourself below!
