Passing Offense Cda Bus Drivers Flag Motorists For Illegal Procedure

Carol Brown’s brow wrinkled with frustration Friday as she flipped through a thick stack of complaints of cars passing school buses illegally.

A report of a woman driving a Cadillac along Mill Avenue near Government Way caught her attention. The woman did not notice the bus until the bus driver blew its horn, according to the complaint.

Even then, the woman, in her 70s, did not stop.

“She just smiled and waved and went on by,” said Brown, the Kootenai County School District No. 271 transportation director.

Bus drivers have filed more than 100 similar complaints during the first 48 days of school, nearly half of the number they receive during a typical school year, Brown said. She estimates 30 more have gone unreported because bus drivers were not able to jot down a license plate number quickly enough.

“It happens a lot more and so fast - two and three cars at a time - that they don’t even turn it in,” Brown said.

Beginning next week, local and state law enforcement will be cracking down on drivers who ignore school bus stop signs and lights.

Uniformed officers from the Kootenai County sheriff’s, Coeur d’Alene police and Idaho State Police departments will ride buses and radio to patrol cars lurking close by to nab offenders.

“It’s probably one of the most dangerous violations we have,” said sheriff’s Capt. Ben Wolfinger.

Cars in both directions are required to stop when a school bus activates its stop arm and flashing lights on two- and three-lane roads, Brown said. On four-lane roads, all motorists traveling in the same direction as the bus are required to stop.

State law requires school bus drivers to report motorists who pass illegally to police, said ISP Lt. Doug Camster. Officers then are required to investigate the claim and issue a ticket if a violation has been committed.

“Regardless of whether there’s a police officer there, they will be caught later down the road,” Camster said.

Fines for illegally passing a school bus range from $100 to $500.

Portions of Ramsey Road and areas in Hayden have been a particular problem, especially when buses are taking students home, authorities said.

“In the afternoon the kids are getting off the bus and run all different directions,” Brown said. “That’s even more frightening.”

No one has been injured by a passing car so far this year, but drivers have reported many near-misses.

One report filed last month detailed an incident on U.S. Highway 95. A truck passed the bus in a no-passing zone near a blind curve and forced an on-coming car off the road, according to the report.

Officers said their departments have a zero-tolerance policy for traffic infractions involving school buses.

“I give a lot of warnings on a lot of things, but I will not give a warning on this,” Wolfinger said. , DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color Photo