School Bus Driver: 'People are Too Busy to Worry about Killing Someone's Child'

A local school bus driver is pleading with drivers to follow the law—and stop for school buses when required.

She says she regularly sees drivers veer around an extended stop arm, as students step onto or off of a bus.

“It happens all over,” the bus driver, who requested anonymity, told Patch. “On small side streets and busier roads like Rte. 30 and Laraway.”

As a refresher, Illinois law dictates that “when a school bus is traveling on a two-lane roadway and is stopped to pick up or drop off pupils, vehicles in all lanes of traffic must stop. Vehicles should stop at least 20 feet before reaching the school bus to allow pupils to cross the roadway safely.”

On a four-lane roadway with two lanes in each directoin, only the lanes traveling the same direction as the bus must stop. One way? All lanes must stop.

But local drivers seem to ignore the rules, the bus driver said.

“It’s a daily problem for all us drivers,” she said. “People are too busy with their daily lives to worry about killing or hurting someone else’s child.”