Does anyone know about Ohio's school bus laws? I received a ticket this morning for what I believe was a legal traffic maneuver. At a four way stop, there was a school bus to my right with flashers on, loading children. I was turning left, away from that bus, so after stopping at the stop sign I proceeded to make my left turn. Ohio Law indicates that cars approaching a school bus should not pass it, but should stop until the children are in the bus and the flashers are off. I, however, was not approaching the bus from either ahead or behind, but was turning left at an intersection, away from the bus. There is no way I could have passed it, going in the same direction, ahead of the bus. I do not believe I should have been ticketed. Any comments?
I am unclear on the situation and layout. Were both you and the bus facing the same direction? Did you pass the bus to turn left?
Here is the relevant law: 4511.75 Stopping for stopped school bus. (A) The driver of a vehicle ... upon meeting or overtaking from either direction any school bus stopped for the purpose of receiving or discharging any school child ... shall stop at least ten feet from the front or rear of the school bus and shall not proceed until such school bus resumes motion, or until signaled by the school bus driver to proceed. I must admit if I came upon the same situation I would have made the turn. Reading the law, it is unclear of course, and you would need to look and see if there are relevant written decisions on this issue. (Sorry, I am not going to take the time to do the legal research.)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/School_bus_traffic_stop_laws In California, a vehicle driver approaching an intersection at which a school bus is stopped shall stop his vehicle at that intersection until the flashing red signal lights are no longer actuated.
For a cold, hard and relatively inexpensive lesson in the US judicial system, I suggest you fight it in court. That'll put the taste of bitterness in your mouth.
" ... shall stop at least ten feet from the front or rear of the school bus and shall not proceed until such school bus resumes motion, or until signaled by the school bus driver to proceed." I might have turned left in that situation, but it seems like the statute is pretty clear to me. Actually, it makes sense. You drive across the same crosswalk in front of the bus whether you go straight or turn left. To the child who accidentally gets hit in the crosswalk, it doesn't matter at all whether the driver was going straight or turning left when he ran the child down in the crosswalk.
From what I understand from the OP, they were on one road, turning left, while the school bus was on an intersecting road, on the right side of the intersection from the accused's perspective. So I would think that this portion of the law is significant: Meriam-Webster's defines "either" as, "being the one or the other of two." "From either direction" means one of two directions: With or against the direction of the bus. It would have to be read as "from any direction" to apply to a vehicle approaching from a direction perpendicular to the direction of the bus. So, what was the state of the accused's vehicle after making the left turn, putting it in the same direction as the bus was facing? When the accused made the left turn, they were not "overtaking" the bus, as a left turn from a road perpendicular to a bus on the right side of the original position of the turning car when entering the intersection doesn't involve passing that bus. All that is left is whether they were "meeting" the bus after turning onto the same road as the bus. The most relevant definition in Meriam-Webster's defines "meet" as "to come into the presence of," so "meeting" would be "coming into the presence of." I would say that travelling in the opposite direction of a bus is "going from the presence of" the bus rather than "coming into the presence of" the bus, and would therefore not be considered "meeting" it.
I probably misunderstood "there was a school bus to my right". I thought he meant it was beside him but in re-reading the OP's post, you are probably correct. I agree that the law would not seem to apply to the traffic on the perpendicular street, unless of course it was turning toward the bus.