Of all the things I’ve seen in my time as a traffic defense attorney, nothing’s come close to this.
Apparently a Cleveland driver didn’t want to wait for a stopped school bus. Instead of detouring around the bus, she drove on the sidewalk. The bus driver caught the whole situation on video:
It’s no surprise that the judge wasn’t happy with that behavior. He found her guilty, gave her a $250 fine, and took her license for 30 days. Perhaps even worse, she has to stand on a street corner on two different days with a sign that reads “Only an idiot drives on the sidewalk to avoid a school bus.”
I’ve never seen a Virginia traffic judge impose a punishment like that. Although I’m sure some have wanted to. But if you’re charged with passing a stopped school bus in Virginia, that is normally written under a reckless driving code section. Thus, you could be facing license suspension for six months and even up to a year in JAIL.
If a Virginia judge had a case like the above situation, I wouldn’t be surprised if they fined the driver the maximum $2,500 and took her license for the full six months. And if the prior driving record is bad, jail could be a possibility.
There are certainly ways to beat a school bus ticket, but a case like this where there’s video would be tough.
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