Beating a Citation for VC 22454 (a) Schoolbus: Meeting and Passing ?
Mr. Freeze
On May 11, 2009, I was stopped (along with another vehicle that was
behind me) by a motorcycle officer in Moorpark, CA (Ventura County).
I was driving north on Spring Rd just past Roberts Ave. at about 2:58
p.m. and passed a bus stop (that is carved into the sidewalk and
completely off-road) where a school bus was stopped and supposedly had
its flashing red lights on and was unloading homeward-bound students.
There is no crossing at the bus stop; the nearest crosswalk is at
least 1/2 block away.
Myself and a driver following me were both pulled over by a motorcycle
officer and I was cited for VC 22454 (a). The officer told me that
they have gotten a lot of complaints from the school district,
although I called and spoke with the school district's traffic
dispatcher and she said she was not aware of any such complaints.
I returned to the scene on 6/10 to study the area and there was a
motorcycle officer there again, and a vehicle was stopped and cited,
too. I took some photos of the scene for reference, which can be seen
here:
Although I can have this violation dismissed through traffic school, I
was quite shocked to learn that the total amount for this is $750.00!
Does anyone out there have any tips for contesting this ticket and
getting it dismissed? I entered a not guilty plea and my next date to
appear in court is set for 7/22/09. If I can't come up with a good
plan, I may have to bite the bullet, pay it, and do the traffic
school.
Below are some notes and research I have compiled thus far:
Schoolbus: Meeting and Passing
22454. (a) The driver of any vehicle, upon meeting or overtaking,
from either direction, any schoolbus equipped with signs as required
in this code, that is stopped for the purpose of loading or unloading
any schoolchildren and displays a flashing red light signal and stop
signal arm, as defined in paragraph (4) of subdivision (b) of Section
25257, if equipped with a stop signal arm, visible from front or rear,
shall bring the vehicle to a stop immediately before passing the
schoolbus and shall not proceed past the schoolbus until the flashing
red light signal and stop signal arm, if equipped with a stop signal
arm, cease operation.
Schoolbus Warning Signal System
25257. (a) Every schoolbus, when operated for the transportation of
schoolchildren, shall be equipped with a flashing red light signal
system.
(b) (1) Every schoolbus manufactured on or after September 1, 1992,
shall also be equipped with a stop signal arm. Any schoolbus
manufactured before September 1, 1992, may be equipped with a stop
signal arm.
(2) Any schoolbus manufactured on or after July 1, 1993, shall also be
equipped with an amber warning light system, in addition to the
flashing red light signal system. Any schoolbus manufactured before
July 1, 1993, may be equipped with an amber warning light system.
(3) On or before September 1, 1992, the department shall adopt
regulations governing the specifications, installation, and use of
stop signal arms, to comply with federal standards.
(4) A stop signal arm is a device that can be extended outward from
the side of a schoolbus to provide a signal to other motorists not to
pass the bus because it has stopped to load or unload passengers, that
is manufactured pursuant to the specifications of Federal Motor
Vehicle Safety Standard No. 131, issued on April 25, 1991.
Possible Defense Considerations:
#
Officer observations - what didn't he observe which a jury member
might expect? What was the officer's opportunity to observe? -
lighting, time spent at intersection, angle from which officer could
observe stop light, other traffic distraction, radio calls
distraction, temperature, etc.
#
Officer observations cross examination. Officer's estimate of
defendant's distance from or into intersection when light changed,
estimate of defendant's speed, estimate of time light red before
defendant's entrance into intersection, whether stop bar - stop line
or curbing. This permits conversion of officer's speed, time and
distance estimates into velocity. Chances are good that the officer's
observations will not mathematically be in the ballpark - impeachment
of his or her testimony & observations.
#
Officer credibility. Experience with traffic enforcement and
training, over concern with conviction statistics, a cop's cop or an
average Joe doing a job, would the jury members want this particular
officer stopping him / her? Has the officer overstated his / her
observations in relation to the driving behavior? How well was the
stop and investigation conducted?
#
Red light, stop light, stop sign, school bus stop are a factual
determinations based upon the circumstances of the case. The case may
turn upon factual argument - defendant's conduct & driving pattern and
officer conduct or opportunity to observe.
#
Reasonable doubt - state proof beyond a reasonable doubt
#
Cloak of innocence and burden of proof upon state - beyond a
reasonable doubt. A defendant is not required to prove innocence -
the state must prove guilt.
VELOCITY AND SPEED
In general terms, velocity and speed mean the same thing: the distance
moved in a unit of time.
Velocity is ordinarily expressed in feet per second.
Speed is more commonly used with reference to motor vehicles,
is measured in miles and hours and speedometers are made to read in
miles per hour.
1. In speeding or stop-sign / stoplight cases, sometimes
seconds (or fractions of a second) become relevant to the officer's
opportunity to observe or calculation error.
2. This is particularly true in cross-examining an officer who
conducted a vascar clock or pace clock in a speeding case, or can be
devastating to the officer's credibility in cross-examination of a
stop sign / red light observation.
3. Accident investigation reports commonly express velocity
(feet per second). Conversion is necessary to understand the accident
report or review the credibility of the accident investigation.
4. Therefore, one must be able to convert miles per hour into
feet per second.
CONVERSION - Speed to Velocity
Miles Per Hour To Feet Per Second
Miles per hour can be changed to feet per second by multiplying the
number of miles per hour by the feet in a mile (5,280) and dividing by
the seconds in an hour (3,600). This is approximately equivalent to
multiplying miles per hour by 1.47 (which is 5,280 / 3,600 to two
decimal places).
Mathematical Formula
v = 1.47s
v = velocity (feet per second)
s - speed (miles per hour)
Example
60mph = 5,280 / 3,600 = 88 ft per sec exactly or
60mph = 60 x 1.47 = 88.2 feet per second approximately
Rough estimates: miles per hour can be multiplied by 1.5
Put another way, half the number is added to the number
Example
60mph = 60 x 1.5 = 90 ft per see, approximately or
60 mph plus 30 mph (half that amount) = 90 ft per sec, approximately
CONVERSION - Velocity to Speed
Feet Per Second To Miles Per Hour
Feet per second can be changed to miles per hour by multiplying by the
seconds in an hour (3,600) and dividing by the feet in a mile (5,280).
This is approximately equivalent to dividing by 1.47 or multiplying by
0.682 (3,600 / 5,280 to three decimal places)
Mathematical Formula
s = v / 1.47 or s = 0.682v
v = velocity (feet per second)
s - speed (miles per hour)
Example
66 ft per sec = 66 x 3,600 / 5,280 = 45 mph exactly or
66 feet per second = 66 x 0.682 = 45.0 mph approximately
Rough estimates: miles per hour is two thirds of feet per second
Example
two thirds of 66 feet per second is 44 miles per hour approximately or
66 feet per second = 66 x 2 = 132 / 3 = 44.0 mph approximately
66 feet per second = 66 x 0.682 = 45.0 mph approximately
Multiplying by 2/3 (0.6667) is roughly the same as dividing by 1.5
Example
66 feet per second = 66 / 1.5 44.0 mph approximately
AT LEAST 13 STATES DEEM PASSING IN THIS SITUATION SAFE
ALASKA:
13 AAC 04.097(a) Red lights must flash when but only when getting on
or off school children, but they may not flash in (1) a designated
school bus loading or unloading area where the bus is entirely off the
roadway and a child getting on or off the bus is not required to cross
the roadway; or (2) an intersection or other place where traffic is
controlled by a traffic-control signal or by a police officer.
DELAWARE:
(4) The amber and/or the red lamps shall not flash: a. In designated
school bus loading zones; b. At intersections or other places where
traffic is controlled by traffic-control signals or police officers;
c. When the bus is not being used as a school bus, but the amber and/
or red lamps may be used any time the bus is transporting children ≤
age of 18.
GEORGIA:
§40-6-162 Red lights required by §§40-8-111 and 40-8-115 must flash
whenever, but only whenever, the school bus is stopped on the highway
to get on or off school children, but not: (1) At intersections or
other places where traffic is controlled by traffic-control signals or
police officers; or (2) In designated school bus loading areas where
the bus is entirely off the roadway.
IDAHO:
(2) A school bus driver must flash red lights and use the stop arm
specified in §49-915 whenever, but only whenever getting on or off
school children, but not: (a) In business districts designated by the
department or local authorities; or (b) At intersections or other
places where traffic is controlled by traffic control signals or peace
officers; or (c) In designated school bus loading areas where the bus
is entirely off the roadway.
IOWA - KANSAS - MONTANA - NEBRASKA - OHIO - SOUTH CAROLINA - SOUTH
DAKOTA - UTAH - WISCONSIN
Arguments against fully stopping and waiting for school buses loading
and unloading children (from Wikipedia)
Major arguments used by those, whether inside or outside the United
States and Canada, against fully stopping and waiting for school buses
loading and unloading children include that:
* As too many vehicles already pass stopped school buses illegally
but convicting them is getting too difficult, current school bus stop
laws are functionally obsolete, collapsing, and hardly enforceable, so
they will require total reconsideration, reevaluation, and radical
changes. Otherwise, children may receive very bad images of nearly
unstoppable law breaking and eventually copy these technically illegal
actions when they become licensed drivers.
* Requiring traffic to pass stopped school buses at a very slow
speed that allow quick stop should be better acceptable without
increasing risks to children. (This is the law in Belgium, Germany and
New Zealand)
* Requiring traffic to stop and wait for stopped school bus next
to a green light causes major confusion and conflict. (This is why
certain places prohibit school buses from flashing red lights next to
a working traffic light.)
* Requiring traffic to stop and wait for stopped school bus on
fast or wide roads may increase hazard and public distrust, especially
when a vehicle is at least 3 m (the typical width of a traffic lane)
from the school bus.
* Children should be better educated to be more careful on the
roads, but they should not get false sense of safety and protection
due to requiring traffic to stop for their getting on or off school
buses. (This is why the stopping requirement in American and Canadian
school bus stop laws is considered unpopular for adoption in the
United Kingdom where the Highway Code Rule 185 asks drivers to pass
carefully a stopped school bus with markings of a school bus.
* The police should better direct traffic to stop to better
protect any children on a roadway or to go past a stopped school bus
when clear instead of wasting resources to enforce hardly enforceable
school bus stop law.
Those against fully stopping and waiting for school buses loading and
unloading children may consider passing stopped school buses illegally
a kind of civil disobedience, especially when and where violations
frequently occur and conviction rates are low.
QUESTIONS FOR OFFICER:
1. Did you observe the complete cycle of flashing lights, from the
time the amber lights began signaling to the time the red flashing
lights ended?
2. How long were the amber flashing lights on?
3. How long were the red flashing lights on?
4. How many children left the bus?
5. What was the location of my vehicle when you first saw my vehicle?
6. Where was the bus at that time and what was the status of its
signals?
7. Would you agree that this bus stop fits this description:
a. "A designated school bus loading or unloading area where the bus is
entirely off the roadway and a child getting on or off the bus is not
required to cross the roadway?"
8. Is it true that no children cross the street at this location, and
that they must walk at least 1/2 block to the nearest cross-walk in
order to cross?
9. Are you aware that at least 13 states include verbiage in their law
that specifically indicates buses need not signal to stop traffic at
locations like this?
10. Is it correct that you indicated my estimated speed was 30 mph?
11. How far behind my vehicle was the 2nd driver cited traveling?
12. What was the estimated speed of the 2nd driver cited?
13. What was the duration that the flashing lights were red for at the
time you purport I passed the bus?
14. How much time elapsed between the time you say I passed the bus
and the time you say the second vehicle cited passed the bus?
