Passing a school bus

[Rex B]

Don't get me wrong, the law is a good one, but the penalty seems way out of line for the offense.
(I know, I know ... "If but one young life is spared...")

I always stop for the buses, and I don't speed through school zones, at all.
That includes the one in Haltom City across 377, where I typically see one kid cross per semester.maybe
And it angers me to see people violating those laws.
But a felony?

[LarryH]

I'll have to check, but I don't believe there's a median along that part of NASA 1. The ticket shows "4100 block" which is right where Lakeshore Drive intersects it.

No receipt, I paid cash at the Valero station on Repsdorph and NASA 1.

[C-dub]

I think I saw the same story on the news last week. This has been a HUGE problem here in the DFW area. The Dallas ISD put cameras on 6 of their buses. I don't remember if it was for one day or a week, but they said all buses caught at least one person driving by the stop sign and a couple had 10 or more. They have about 1200 buses in the whole district.

[Rex B]

No receipt, I paid cash at the Valero station on Repsdorph and NASA 1.

they may still be able to reprint the ticket if you remember the amount and the time

[Rex B]

I think I saw the same story on the news last week. This has been a HUGE problem here in the DFW area. The Dallas ISD put cameras on 6 of their buses. I don't remember if it was for one day or a week, but they said all buses caught at least one person driving by the stop sign and a couple had 10 or more. They have about 1200 buses in the whole district.

They need to nail those people, and fine them enough to get their attention.
But don't hang them with a felony.

[srothstein]

Just to correct the news, which we all know is very accurate, it is a state jail felony if it is the second offense of passing a school bus and causing serious bodily injury.

In other words, it is a class B misdemeanor for all normal tickets (fine up to $1000 makes it class B even though there is no jail time possible), a full class A misdemeanor for the first offense where you injure someone, and a state jail felony for the second or later offenses of injuring someone while passing the school bus.

[LarryH]

In other words, it seems that I have to fight this, or be ready to surrender my CHL and forget getting another one for five years.

Does that about cover it, Steve?

[martywj]

In other words, it seems that I have to fight this, or be ready to surrender my CHL and forget getting another one for five years.

Does that about cover it, Steve?

The felony part only applies if there was serious bodily injury to another or if its a second offense.
Read section (c) (1) & (2) This section also refers to the fine.

The part about how the highway is considered divided or seperate roadways is in section (f) (1) & (2)

Here is the full law:

§ 545.066. PASSING A SCHOOL BUS; OFFENSE. (a) An
operator on a highway, when approaching from either direction a
school bus stopped on the highway to receive or discharge a student:
(1) shall stop before reaching the school bus when the
bus is operating a visual signal as required by Section 547.701;
and
(2) may not proceed until:
(A) the school bus resumes motion;
(B) the operator is signaled by the bus driver to
proceed; or
(C) the visual signal is no longer actuated.
(b) An operator on a highway having separate roadways is not
required to stop:
(1) for a school bus that is on a different roadway;
or
(2) if on a controlled-access highway, for a school
bus that is stopped:
(A) in a loading zone that is a part of or
adjacent to the highway; and
(B) where pedestrians are not permitted to cross
the roadway.
(c) An offense under this section is a misdemeanor
punishable by a fine of not less than $200 or more than $1,000,
except that the offense is:
(1) a Class A misdemeanor if the person causes serious
bodily injury to another; or
(2) a state jail felony if the person has been
previously convicted under Subdivision (1).
(d) The court may order that the driver's license of a
person convicted of a second or subsequent offense under this
section be suspended for not longer than six months beginning on the
date of conviction. In this subsection, "driver's license" has the
meaning assigned by Chapter 521.
(e) If a person does not pay the previously assessed fine or
costs on a conviction under this section, or is determined by the
court to have insufficient resources or income to pay a fine or
costs on a conviction under this section, the court may order the
person to perform community service. The court shall set the number
of hours of service under this subsection.
(f) For the purposes of this section:
(1) a highway is considered to have separate roadways
only if the highway has roadways separated by an intervening space
on which operation of vehicles is not permitted, a physical
barrier, or a clearly indicated dividing section constructed to
impede vehicular traffic; and
(2) a highway is not considered to have separate
roadways if the highway has roadways separated only by a left turn
lane.


Texas and lots of other states take passing a stopped school bus with red lights flashing pretty serious. Sounds like your best bet is defense driving or defered adjundacation. If they will allow it with some offenses they won't allow it. Good Luck!!

[LarryH]

According to the El Lago municipal court site, "passing a school bus" isn't one of those offenses you can settle with defensive driving.

I didn't actually notice the bus. I'm pretty sure that I never left the far right lane after exiting the gas station, so I'm also pretty sure (98% or more) that the bus wasn't on my side of the road.

Along that stretch, NASA 1 has no median and consists of three lanes in each direction, plus a central left turn lane. IIRC, traffic lanes are about fourteen feet wide, so the bus and I were apparently separated by seventy feet or more.

For Martywj: Class A or B misdemeanor would make me (or anyone else) ineligible for CHL for five years, felony it's for life.

[KD5NRH]

Along that stretch, NASA 1 has no median and consists of three lanes in each direction, plus a central left turn lane. IIRC, traffic lanes are about fourteen feet wide, so the bus and I were apparently separated by seventy feet or more.

Find yourself a good traffic lawyer. I'm sure someone here can recommend one.

[LarryH]

Either way, you need to get a copy of the officer's notes to find out where the bus was.

I intend to do this, probably tomorrow. That should give plenty of time for the report to be available.

Also planning to find a good traffic lawyer, as you mentioned in another post. One of my first questions will probably be about the possibility of pleading guilty to a lesser (Class C) offense, so I can keep the CHL. Seems unjust, to say the least, to take away someone's ability to legally defend himself for a moment's inattention that didn't (at least I don't think it could have) endanger anybody.

[WildBill]

Also planning to find a good traffic lawyer, as you mentioned in another post. One of my first questions will probably be about the possibility of pleading guilty to a lesser (Class C) offense, so I can keep the CHL. Seems unjust, to say the least, to take away someone's ability to legally defend himself for a moment's inattention that didn't (at least I don't think it could have) endanger anybody.

I hope things work out for you.

[srothstein]

Before you plead guilty, you might want to check on another option. Deferred adjudication is always a possibility. Defensive driving is a specialized version of this, but there is a general deferred adjudication also.

The good news is that there may be another trick you can use. I am the one saying it is a class B misdemeanor, not the state. The Penal Code says the limit for a class C misdemeanor is a fine of $500. But the Penal Code also says that any misdemeanor not specifically classified is a class C. The Transportation Code does not specify the grade of offense and just says violations of the code are misdemeanors unless otherwise specified.

It is entirely possible that DPS would consider it a class C misdemeanor still, since it really is just a minor traffic offense. This could certainly be argued either way in a court. An even stronger argument would be that it went to a municipal court. Municipal court jurisdiction is class C misdemeanors only. I was going to say you could let it get to trial and then move for dismissal on the grounds of jurisdiction of the court, but I found where the Code of Criminal Procedure was modified to allow the municipal court to handle any offense under state law that is punishable by fine only.

If I were you and could not find a way around the guilty plea, I would not tell DPS about it as a misdemeanor, just treating it as a ticket like any other. My opinion has no legal weight on the status of the offense.

[KD5NRH]

Before you plead guilty, you might want to check on another option. Deferred adjudication is always a possibility. Defensive driving is a specialized version of this, but there is a general deferred adjudication also.

IIRC, deferred adjudication on a class B still has the same CHL issues as any other class B conviction.

[chabouk]

You should also find out exactly where the bus stops. If I'm understanding this correctly, you turned right out of a business driveway while a bus was stopped across the street. There might be a very good argument that you didn't "pass" the bus at all.