JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A Jacksonville mom wants to send a reminder to drivers: Be careful and remember the rules of the road when sharing the street with buses.
Angel Burney says she’s afraid to let her kids walk across the street to catch the bus because she says the next time someone doesn’t pay attention to the extended arms and flashing lights and drives around the bus; her children could get injured or lose their lives.
Burney’s security camera captured the near catastrophe Friday morning.
In the video, her two children are seen waiting for the bus to arrive. The bus then pulls up. The arms are then extended, and the lights start flashing.
Then, a driver ignores those signs and drives around it.
Burney’s daughter stops her younger brother from walking across the street, when she sees the car coming.
Angel Burney says that “It just makes me feel like I’m thankful to God. I’m thanking God foremost because like I said if it wasn’t for my 12-year-old pulling my six-year-old back and the way that car was coming so fast, he probably would’ve been hurt or in the hospital or probably up at Shands or could’ve been gone. I would’ve been making funeral plans.”
Burney says this incident has her on the fence about letting her kids take the bus to and from school because she knows that’ll require them to cross this street.
And Burney says she wishes people would just be more careful—when on the streets.
Angel “What if this was your child, what if this was your relative. What if it was you trying to catch the bus. Put yourself in that person’s shoes. What if you were trying to get your education wouldn’t you think it’s important to stop and get on the bus.”
And Burney says she’s not sure when she’ll feel more comfortable about her kids riding the bus---but she hopes drivers are safer on the roads.
School Bus Rules
When it comes to buses and stopping do you know the rules?
On a two-lane road, vehicles traveling in both directions must stop.
For a multi-lane road that’s paved across, vehicles traveling in both directions must stop.
On a divided highway that has an unpaved space, a raised median or physical barrier, vehicles behind the bus must stop. Vehicles traveling in the opposite direction should slow down and proceed with caution.
It’s important to remember passing a stopped bus is illegal and there could be consequences.
Penalties are:
- Failing to stop for a school bus - $200 fine
- A second offense in 5 years - your license could be suspended for up to one year
- Passing on the side where children enter and exit when the school bus displays a stop signal $400 fine
- Second offense in 5 years - license can be suspended for up to two years.