BOISE, Idaho — As summer school begins across Treasure Valley districts, many students are being put in danger as they attempt to get off the bus or cross the street.
Durham School Services in Boise said they have seen a massive increase in the number of drivers who are not stopping for buses, which carry some of the most precious cargo in our children.
Safety training manager with Durham School Services, Gary Hendrickson, is appalled by how many people in Ada County pass stopped school buses.
"Whether you're texting or whether you're just not paying attention, we have a large segment of the population that just does not observe the stop bar," Hendrickson said.
Under Idaho code, a car not stopping for a bus signaling its stop sign is a misdemeanor and is punishable by up to a $200 fine for the first offense.
On the second offense, it is punishable by up to $400 and by up to $600 for the third offense.
"We're responsible for those children," Hendrickson said. "We say we have the most important job in the world and we do taking care of our future and so we take it very seriously."
As of 2019, buses in Idaho are equipped with stop-arm cameras, which allow buses to record peripheral traffic when stopped.
"We're going to be cracking down," Hendrickson said. "We're not going to back off."
Durham School Services has been keeping track of violations around Boise and Garden City, according to Hendrickson.
From August 2021 to January 2022, Durham drivers have reported 200 violations. By the end of the school year, that number more than doubled to 500 reported violations.
They send the license plate numbers to local law enforcement. Hendrickson said law enforcement agencies have then issued 60% of violations.
"It just seems like it's getting worse rather than better," Hendrickson. "Now in the summertime, I fear it's going it's going to be very active."
Besides being illegal and expensive, Hendrickson said not stopping can also be deadly for kids getting on or off the bus.
"These are the danger zones we talk about and the general public just needs to be aware that we're not doing it to inconvenience you," Hendrickson said. "We're doing this for the safety of our future for our children."
Hendrickson said his best piece of advice is to just be patient on those roads. He sometimes sees drivers pass the stop arm halfway and remember to stop.
If you stop halfway, a violation will not be issued. It's only when drivers pass all the way through that people may have trouble.
When a school bus is pulled over to the side of the road, all drivers, both ways, must stop until the bus turns off its red, flashing lights and retracts its stop sign. There is an exception if there are five or more lanes (including a center turn lane). The oncoming traffic is not required to stop in that situation.
Watch more Local News:
See the latest news from around the Treasure Valley and the Gem State in our YouTube playlist: