The Shelby County School District is teaming up with the Shelby County District Attorney’s Office and local law enforcement agencies to protect students at bus stops.  The most recent guidelines allow school bus drivers to report drivers when they illegally pass a school bus when the stop arm is out.

Many of the buses in Shelby County are equipped with external cameras that record the license plate of a vehicle when it passes through the stop arm.  This video is then copied and sent to the local law enforcement agency so that a citation can be sent to the driver of the vehicle. Hopefully, news of this new technology will get out to the local public so that illegal passing of school buses will become a thing of the past.

The consequence for illegal passing is:

1^st Violation        $150 – $300 Fine

2^nd Violation       $300 – $500 Fine, 100 hours community service, 30 day driver license suspension

3^rd Violation        $500 – $1,000 Fine, 200 hours community service, 90 day driver license suspension

4^th Violation        $1,000 – $3,000 Fine, Class “C” Felony, one year driver license suspension

Do you know when to stop for a school bus? Many citizens may be confused on when a vehicle must stop for a school bus.  According to Shelby County Transportation Supervisor Brent Copes, the only situation that does not require a vehicle to stop is when it is heading the opposite direction of a bus and there is a median separating the traffic.  Please refer to the attached document which illustrates a bus stop.

For more information please call the Shelby County School’s Transportation Department at 682-7130.