Q: Will I get in trouble for accidentally passing a school bus?
Hello,
This morning I was driving to work and a school bus pulled out in front of me and I quickly switched to the next lane over. The reason I’m concerned is because as soon as the bus pulled out they were slowly moving and I didn’t realize they were about to stop again. I’m not sure if they were still moving a little or had come to a complete stop as I passed them because it all happened so quick. When I passed them I looked back in my mirror I saw they had come to a stop and the stop sign had just finished coming out. I feel really horrible about it and it was a complete accident. I live in Virginia. Will I get in trouble and if I do what are my chances in court if I get a lawyer?
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A: There are two Virginia statutes governing the passing of a school bus. They both discuss a vehicle "approaching" a stopped school bus and require that the school bus actually be stopped when it is passed. The statutes do not appear to apply to the situation you have described; this, as you say, all happened very quickly and it wasn't a scenario where you had approached a clearly stopped bus and decided to continue past it. If you are ticketed for this incident the outcome will depend on whether the bus driver appears to testify, if there's any video footage of the incident, what your driving record looks like, etc. You would, of course, also be free to explain to any judge how the incident played out from your perspective.
A: Whether you get a ticket will largely depend on 1) if the bus driver noted you, felt you were passing them and reported you, and 2) if the bus had video cameras (the distribution of those cameras is very sporadic). This is a tough one, because the judges take it very seriously in light of the risk to children. There are things you can do to help mitigate the situation if you do get a ticket, but you may still be looking at penalties from the court. That said, I'd advise seeing if you have a ticket before worrying about mitigation.
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