As experienced North Carolina accident injury attorneys, my colleagues see far too many accidents involving school buses. Take the case of an an SUV crossing a center line, hitting a bus head-on in Johnson County and injuring four students. The SUV driver had fallen asleep at the wheel and was cited for reckless driving.
Often, at-fault drivers ignore the basics of safely sharing the road with children and buses. During a police enforcement campaign in Wilmington, NC, many drivers were flouting the school bus rules. Some did not even appear to be aware that they were meant to stop when a school bus had activated its flashing lights and raised the stop sign arm. Ignoring a school bus stop sign will lead to a hefty fine, and the consequences for students getting on or off the bus may be more serious.
This video highlights school bus safety
My colleague Richard Shapiro has written blogged about a young girl who was fatally struck by a passing SUV while attempting to exit a school bus in Raleigh. In that case, the driver of the SUV did not stop behind the school bus and struck the child while she was crossing the street at her stop.
DM