While many school districts and law enforcement agencies are teaming up to catch drivers who illegally pass stopped school buses using cameras, the North Carolina Highway Patrol is using a decidedly more old-school approach.
While the NCHP and local school districts are also utilizing more advanced external cameras, the agency is also encouraging anyone who witnesses a motorist passing a stopped school bus to report the drivers with a short downloadable form.
The forms can be turned in to a school administration department for a school system, who will pass the forms onto proper authorities.
North Carolina state law, like similar laws across the country, dictates drivers going either direction must stop when a bus is stopped to let children off. Drivers are also supposed to stay stopped until the bus has completed dropping the children off and resumed moving again.
The only instance where a driver can legally pass a stopped school bus is if they are going in the opposite direction on a road with at least four lanes and a median between the lanes, so that there is a median between the driver and the school bus.
Within the state, a conviction for passing stopped buses is a five points on the driver’s record, notably harsh considering reckless driving and driving on the wrong side of the road both receive four points each.
