help from thoes in law enforcement, PLEASE

[Mike Dziubina]

ok guys, this is probably the worst day ive had. bad day in school, hair dresser messed up my hair, prom is friday (not a bad thing jsut adds to stress), my last baseball game at my high school tonight, and to top it off a nice $650 ticket...

i need your help on what to do.

heres the scenerio...i got out of school a little early today and decided to pull my S/T up to the front of the school to pick up my brother. there were 2 busses out front picking up one of the sports teams, so i proceed on and park my truck on the left side of the "pick up" zone parallel to the 2nd bus in line. honestly i didnt not see and flashing lights and just parked my truck there. i get out and start talking to friends and i see the bus driver take my plate down. he looks up we make eye contact and he says, "you jsut got yourself a nice $650 dollar ticket for going through my lights!" so i start freaking out but was not mean to the guy in anyway. thats just the kid i am, i always respect my elders and did not show any attitude. so i try talking to the guy and i guess it didnt work. he said we will see if i hand it in around 8 o'clock. if i do you will get a $650 dollar ticket in the mail tomarrow.

it gets better....this bus driver is the same guy that drives my baseball team for the school and i am always the only one to thank him for driving us...hows that

what do i do?

 

[Frank Marano]

Well, you did admit above you did not see the lights. Passing a bus with its flashing reds on is a violation. I am not sure how the trail of the ticket will go. I wonder if they go on the drivers word alone or do they send a cop to investigate.

 

[FL ST]

So you were in a sort of parent pickup line and you pulled up next to a bus and parked next to him?

 

[Mike Dziubina]

yes thats correct greg. i will try to draw a picture for everyone. Fmarano, one of my friends called me and told me that he didnt see the lights go on until i was even with the bus and this could be why i didnt see the lights.

picture a school bus on one side of the little lane and my S/T on the other side even with him, this is why he wrote me up.

freaking out!

 

[Kevin Palmer]

Sounds like it will be his word against yours no matter if there were lights or not. All you can do is plead your case in court if in fact the ticket is submitted.



I am a bit confused about one thing. Were in a drive of the school or on a road in front of the school?



If on a road, (which I doubt) then that would mean it is expected for all drivers to stop, (when the flashing lights are on) and wait for an entire team to be loaded. Does not sound to feasible to me.



If you were in the school drive, then it brings about other questions. I have NEVER seen a bus operate the lights on the school property. The school property unlike the parking lot of Walmart, is not public property. If you do something wrong at Walmart then they have to choose to press charges or the officer can not write you a ticket. Even for fender benders. Normally the insurances figure out fault or split the finial cost.



I assume this is a one-way thru way and the kids can ONLY enter from the curb side. Which means there is no kids crossing the thru way to be able to get to the bus. If this is the case why the lights. They would serve no purpose. Unless, there is parking available on the side you were on and feasibly one of the kids would cross the thru way to get to a vehicle.

 

[Kevin Palmer]

Schools get real tricky on who and to what degree they, the state, or Federal Court has jurisdiction over you. The fed has it written up to where they do not have jurisdiction over you in most cases as it needs to be some sort of commerce that your affecting. They have been hung up several times and lost when kids brought a gun to school for example. If he/she does not have an affect on commerce then the fed gov is out on a limb. It has been argued that the bringing of the gun to school does affect commerce as it affects the children. Since the children are affected then the future commerce is affected. Then of course, it was shown that a six year old that loses a loved one, parent brother etc is only temporary affected and it does not have long term issues with the 6 year. So the defendants bring that up and the charge is dismissed. And so on and so on and so on...



So if you do get a ticket you need to see where the charges, (claim) is stemming from. City, State or Federal. And then go from there.

 

[Can Trac]

a couple questions come to mind.... what kind of school is it? public, private, prep, college, in the woods?? If it's in a school zone, then it's a school ZONE and all rules apply..does the bus have that big red stop sign on the side that swings out?, anyone gettin on/off?, you got witnesses?,,the driver's got?... if you do get the ticket,, I'd take pictures/witnesses/decent explanation to court and hope the other side shows up. It could take some time, but ouch $650 good/luck

 

[Robert Stanton]

My question would have to be whether the bus driver even has the ability to "ticket" you for that infraction. Wouldn't something like that have to be witnessed by an officer?



Hell, if just anyone can write tickets for others, I'm going to start doing that around here! Some of the people around here don't deserve to be driving.

 

[Gavin Allan]

I think you should go to court and honestly say what happened.



I can't see why you should get a $650 fine for this first-time infraction with no intent to violate the law and no one got hurt.



Hopefully the judge will be realistic.



Good luck.

 

[shawn stonbraker 2]

I agree with everyone else. Get witnesses if the idiot actually does something with the so-called "ticket". I think he was just trying to be a thug and trying to inflict authority where he had none. If he's like any of the busdrivers around in my area, they are pretty much glorified welfare receipiants, who think they are the sh*t. There are a few good ones that really are cool to the kids but then there are some that think they are cops undercover as busdrivers. I actually went and cussed one out that would litterally sit out in front of my house, EVERY DAY, and scream at the top of her lungs for 10 minutes (seriously, I timed it for two days before I went and said something to her) at the kids that were on her bus. I ended up calling the company that supplies the busses and she lost her job. Anyway, I doubt if he even does anything, but if he does, get witnesses and fight it.

 

[Bill V]

Bahb, school bus drivers have the ability to record plates and vehicle descriptions of those passing them, and contact law enforcement. (Don't know if this is nation wide, but I do know that it applies at least in both Minnesota and Wisconsin.)



mike, I think you approached it the right way in discussing it with him, making it clear that it was a case of not seeing the lights (rather than a youthful intentional ignoring of them), and thanking him after the baseball game. If he doesn't turn you in, you have those actions to thank.



If you do get the ticket--be sure to refer to your friend as a witness. Could be valuable information to the judge.

 

[FL ST]

Everyone has good points here. Although it's not advised to run stop signs in a Walmart parking lot, the rules of the road really don't apply...atleast here in FL. Like Coastie said, most insurance companies figure out who's at fault and go from there.



If it was on school property there should be no need for lights. If it was during school zone hours it still wouldn't make a difference unless you were speeding past him in the parking lot. It sounds like it was afterschool hours though.



Also, as Bahb said, see who actually ticketed you. And from what you said you pulled parallel to his bus so technically, if his lights were on and you were in the wrong, you did stop. You didn't drive past him, right?



I would take it to court depending on who ticketed you. It may be worth it. Bring some witnesses, possibly some people on that bus. The driver would have to show to make his case and you got a 50-50 chance of him not showing. So you may not get the whole thing thrown out but you could get it reduced.



Good Luck.

 

[Richard L]

I seriously doubt that the bus driver will turn you license plate in, and even if he did, I doubt you would get a $650 ticket based solely on his word. He may be trying to cover his but for not turning on his flashers before stopping to pickup the kids.



Here in Texas, the school buses will start flashing yellow lights before they come to a stop to pickup or drop off students. Once they stop completely, they turn on the flashing red lights.



The other possibility is that you were pulled up close behind the bus and if he turned on his flashers, they were too high to see from your position.???



...Rich

 

[Gary DiPietroSr]

I know Mike personally, and he is a stand up guy. He would never disrespect anyone.

Mike if you get that ticket, go to court and ask to speak to the prosecutor and tell him about your volunteer services etc. Just be yourself and hopefully it will go well for you.



Gary D.

 

[NYJohn]

Mike- do you actually have a ticket in your hand? If not, I wouldn't worry. Like "Bahb" said- a bus driver can not issue a ticket. A police officer must actually witness the offense take place, at least that's what I've always been told. I'm in a world of hell if bus drivers can issue tickets or pass vehicle info on to law enforcement as "Bill V" said. I saw a school bus with the red lights flashing with no one behind the wheel- 5 minutes later out comes the driver with a cup of coffee from 7-11. He put the lights on so he could cross the street easily. Here in NY the red lights on buses are abused all the time. It's unfortunate because then people run them more often.I can't see these bus drivers having the power to write a ticket or even pass info to the cops.

 

[Jeffrey Travis]

Good luck with that and hopefully the whole thing just goes away. It sounds like you do have karma on your side but..........



IF you get the ticket and

IF you pay $650

THEN you make it your life's work to find this guy doing ANYTHING wrong. 36 in a 35 zone, 21 in a 20, 9 in an 8, etc, rolling a stop sign, rolling a right on red (or maybe even taking a right on red - school buses may not be able to such),



Did he ever speed (or did it appear) that he was speeding when shuttling the baseball team around?



Do not tell him you are out to get him, just make it happen. Find someone who rides the bus to keep an eye on the mph and any other traffic violations and then blow him into the authorities. Essentially it is an 'eye for an eye'.



And when it is all done you can thank him for the fun.



JT#14



p.s. And in twenty years he may end up in a gutter somewhere like George "Can't stand ya" Costanza's gym teacher on Seinfeld.

 

[Mike Valvardi]

 

[Gavin Allan]

re: help from thoes in law enforcement, PLEASE by JT#14,5/22/2006 19:57 CT



Good luck with that and hopefully the whole thing just goes away. It sounds like you do have karma on your side but..........



IF you get the ticket and

IF you pay $650

THEN you make it your life's work to find this guy doing ANYTHING wrong.

Swift application of human suffering and pain might be easier (and worth it).

 

[Josh Langel]

His word against your. So, "you didn't do it."



F'em... he's not law enforcement, IT was not witnessed by law enforcement and SURE AS HELL didn't get a police report WHEN the violation took place.



I would tell them to jump in a lake and prove it. This cannot stand in court... "so, what evidence do you have, Mr Bus Driver?" REMEMBER: FOUND GUILTY IF PROVEN... no evidence but a stupid bus driver's report isn't enough.



I say give him a map and make sure HELL is circled.



----- SOUNDS like he is trying to scare you.

 

[NYJohn]

I think tomorrow I'll stand near a busy intersection and write down plate numbers of cars committing traffic violations. Then I'll hand the list to a cop where A) he'll hit me with his radio, B) stuff me in the trunk of his car or C) issue ME a ticket for being a jerk.