Henry County parents got a scary reminder this week that not everyone treats a stopped school bus like the legal stop sign it actually is. A minivan was caught on video swerving around a bus with its lights flashing and stop arm extended, narrowly missing a young boy who had just stepped off. The vehicle didn’t even slow down until the bus driver leaned on the horn, which is about as close to a worst-case scenario as you can get without anyone actually getting hurt.
The boy’s mother, Alicia Strickland, said she’s thankful her son is okay, but she’s not just letting this one go. She wants the driver held accountable and is now pushing for more cameras on school buses, since the one camera that was rolling didn’t catch the incident. Strickland says the stretch of road near her home already has a reputation for speeding, with drivers gunning it in cars, trucks, and motorcycles alike.
It’s a fair point, and honestly, a pretty reasonable ask. Cameras have become the go-to fix for just about every traffic problem these days, and in this case, it’s hard to argue against another set of eyes when a kid’s safety is on the line.
What makes this one sting a little more is the timing. This happened on the second day of school, which means plenty of drivers were probably still getting used to buses being back on their regular routes and stopping at spots that had been quiet all summer. That’s not an excuse, but it might explain why some folks are caught off guard.
Why Passing a Stopped School Bus Is Such a Big Deal
Every state has laws requiring drivers to stop when a school bus has its red lights flashing and stop arm out, and for good reason. Kids darting across the street are unpredictable, and a driver trying to save thirty seconds by squeezing past simply doesn’t have room for error. In this video, the driver never even slows down until the horn forces the issue, which suggests he wasn’t paying much attention in the first place.
Strickland put it simply: drivers need to treat the stop sign like an actual stop sign. It sounds obvious, but apparently it needs repeating.
Other parents are mad. One wrote on Youtube: “Gross; drivers are totally out of control in many places; no respect, awareness or courtesy; where was the minivan driver going? To Starbucks? SMH and WTF.”
Another said: “Send the driver to prison for 2 years, that’ll teach’em!”
Cameras Might Be the Next Step
Many school districts around the country have already added stop arm cameras that automatically ticket drivers who blow past a stopped bus. Given how close this call was, and how little evidence the district had after the fact, it’s easy to see why Strickland is asking for the same here.
A camera wouldn’t have stopped this particular driver from being reckless, but it sure would have made it a lot easier to hold him accountable.
A Near Miss Is Still Alarming
This is one of those stories where the outcome was good, but the near miss is the whole point. Nobody wants to see cameras pop up everywhere, but school bus stops seem like one of the few places where most people, boomers and younger drivers alike, can agree the extra oversight is worth it.
A few seconds of patience beats a lifetime of regret, and that’s not really up for debate.