Conflicting state laws re. school buses......

[wirry1422]

What is the name of your state? Illinois & Virginia

This is very interesting so I reposted this from a reply to a previous post... Virginia state law specifies that all vehicles in all directions must stop for a school bus with the exception of vehicles on the opposite side of a divided access highway, which is a highway of four or more lanes WITH a median barrier or unpaved median strip. In other words, vehicles on a regular four lane roadway without the median still have to stop for school buses in Virginia. On the other hand, Illinois state law says that vehicles in both directions must stop for an unloading school bus, unless they are driving on a roadway with four or more lanes, in which case only vehicles traveling in the same direction need to stop, while vehicles traveling in the opposite direction need not stop. This applies to all roadways with four or more lanes, 2 of which are in the opposite direction, whether or not that roadway is divided. Illinois law also directs that school bus drivers shall construct their routes so that if they are dropping off children on a roadway with four lanes or more, they must always drop the children off/ or pick them up on the same side of the road as their home so that no child will ever have a reason to cross the four lane roadway, meaning that there is no need for oncoming traffic on that road to stop, while Virginia law has no such provision. So it seems we have two states with conflicting laws on a serious moving violation. Illinois says that oncoming traffic on ANY roadway with four or more lanes (with at least two lanes of opposite direction travel) does not need to stop for a loading school bus. While Virginia says that oncoming traffic on a four-lane road DOES need to stop for a loading school bus, unless that roadway is divided by a barrier or a median strip. I find this conflict very scary. The violation in question is a SERIOUS violation in either state, and yet they have conflicting laws, making a legal move in one state a violation of the law in another. So what's a traveling out-of-state motorist to do??? Anyone........

 

[racer72]

My state is different from your examples. The best course of action, and what I would do, is always stop for all school bus signals unless the locals react differently, then as they say, do as the natives do.

 

[wirry1422]

That advice would work in many situations, but not all. Say you are an Illinois driver in Richmond Virginia. You are driving on an urban four-lane roadway with only a thin double yellow line in the middle, no barrier or median. A school bus is slowing in the opposite lanes ahead and has its yellow lights flashing. As you get close to this bus, it puts its red lights and stop arm out. No cars are ahead of you. So in that case you have no example to follow, and following your home states rules (Illinois) you proceed past, only to find a patrol car making a u-turn and nailing you for this serious violation. Because no one was ahead or close behind you, you had no example to follow. I guess you are SOL. Or the opposite scenario. You are a Richmond Virginia driver traveling in Chicago Illinois. You are on a four-lane roadway with just the double yellow line seperating oncoming lanes, no median or barrier strip. A Scool bus is slowing in the opposite lanes ahead and preparing to stop. Before you pass it, it stops with its red signals and stop arm extended. Following Virginia law, you come to a quick and complete stop. A motorist behind you is not anticipating your unneeded stop, and is unable to avoid colliding with you. Again you are screwed because at best you have just had an accident, and at worst you are responsible because you obstructed traffic and are found liable for the collision. Again in that situation, you were the first car to approach the stopped bus and had no "natives" with which to follow their example. Again, a pretty scary situation all around for out-of-state drivers. There are perhaps many such confounding and hazardous driving law inconsistencies across state lines.

 

[fedcop110]

There are perhaps many such confounding and hazardous driving law inconsistencies across state lines.

You are absolutely correct. There are many differences in state law throughout the country. I don't understand what you are getting at however. Ignorance of the law is no excuse. This is a rather blunt way of saying it but it is correct. Simply not knowing the traffic laws in the area you are driving is not a legal defense for failing to obey them. It may suck but it is the way things work.

 

[wirry1422]

The problem in this particular situation, the school bus laws, is that either interpretation, ie stopping in the opposite direction of a four-lane road or not for a school bus is intuitive, so common sense is no guide to assist the motorist in an unfamiliar area, as it is with many other laws. Another problem is there are generally no signs on the issue whatsoever for out-of-state motorists to use as a reference. Another problem is that this is not just a minor violation, this is a reckless driving charge. All of these aspects combine to make this a rather unique situation to which other law inconstistencies are not comparable. The final problem is that anyone, even the best safest driver with no intention of breaking even the slightest law, could find themselves in violation. Yes, your quote is a basic tenet of American justice, but in this particular case, it doesn't serve to make the reality any less scary for out-of-state drivers. It is obviously impossible to learn of every obsure difference in traffic laws of another state, and with no signs to guide us, we are very much on our own. One cited for this violation in another state can only hope that they are capable of articulating the conflicting law of their own state, and they can only hope the judge will excercise his considerable discretion to reduce or dismiss charges based on the conflicting nature of the state driving laws. It would be nice if state driving laws in all states contained provisions for such an eventuality, perhaps specifying certain driving laws to which people with out of state licenses can impose in court the fact that they followed their home state laws in their driving behavior, and are therefore guilty of a lessor violation, or no violation at all. If states can implement the driver's license compacts and the non-resident violators compacts, why can they not recognize the impossibility of out-of-state violators to know of all obsure conflicts in state driving laws and implement a compact recogninzing the inconsistincies in specific moving violations accross state lines, thereby giving amnesty to unintentional violators who followed their home states' laws? "Ignorance is no excuse of the law" Does not exactly fit here as the poor soles who violate the out-of-state law but did not violate their home state's law are not ignorant, just uninformed of legal conflicts. Perhaps the federal government needs to get involved to bring order to chaos.