Stop for Flashing Lights: Stiff Penalty for Drivers in Minnesota
GREENVALE TOWNSHIP, MINNESOTA - A 21-year-old resident of Northfield, Minnesota, learned why you should always stop for a bus with flashing red lights and the stop arm out after they were charged with a Gross Misdemeanor, which comes with a sentence of 0-1 year, and/or a fine of $900 to $3,000.
According to a criminal complaint from the Dakota County Attorney's Office, Dakota County Sheriff Officers responded to a complaint on October 16, 2023, about a Honda Crossover drove around a school bus 10 seconds after it had stopped to pick up kids near the intersection of Foliage Avenue and 300th Street West in Greenvale Township, Minnesota. According to the criminal complaint, the vehicle driver drove around the bus into the opposing traffic lane as kids were actively getting on the bus. The bus had its stop arm extended and red flashing lights active. The incident even resulted in one of the kids gasping at the site of the vehicle driving around the bus.
Deputies with the Dakota County Sheriff's Office spoke with the bus driver and reviewed video from the bus, which clearly showed the vehicle's driver, vehicle, and license plate.
Several school buses across the state of Minnesota now have cameras built into the stop arm as part of a $14.7 million project that the Minnesota state legislator passed for 2022 and 2023, which will be used by the Minnesota Department of Public Safety Office of Traffic Safety to reimburse school districts and transportation companies for purchasing and installing these cameras and their software onto the buses. According to law enforcement, across Minnesota from 2017 to 2021, 4,652 drivers were cited for stop-arm violations, with Minnesota School Bus Drivers reporting 1,003 stop-arm violations in 2022 according to a survey from the National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation Services that was conducted annually about illegal passing.
Below is a video from the Minnesota Department of Public Safety with some reminders on school bus safety.
