Vehicles Passing & Not Stopping for School Buses Becoming Common in Lee Co

Since the recent start of the Lee County School year, multiple reports and photos from parents have been surfacing of vehicles who either pass stopped school buses or keep going in the opposite direction. The most recent being on Tuesday, September 19th on HWY 11. As the photos show, the bus was stopped with a child unloading along with the swinging arm out. The parent stated that the stop sign was out with the red lights flashing.
Most likely because the child was getting off the same side of the road that the bus was on, the driver of the truck decided they would just keep going and disregard the stop sign. However, it does not matter which side of the bus or road a child is exiting the bus from; as per state law, traffic in all directions are to stop. Two-lane roadways with or without a center turn lane: All traffic from both directions must stop.
Lee Co Sheriff’s Dept. are currently trying to address this issue in order to ensure the safety of parents, students and bus drivers.
Those who violate Kentucky law by passing a stopped school bus are subject to $100 to $200 in fines and/or 30 to 60 days of imprisonment for a first offense.
A careless decision can easily turn into a fatal one, all for saving yourself the 5-10 seconds it takes to wait on a child to unload at a bus stop. Respect the law, respect our bus drivers and respect our children’s lives.
Photos via Lindsey Judd.