Sadly, on January 29, a 12-year-old boy was critically injured in Kissimmee while on his way to a school bus stop.
According to the Orlando Sentinel, a Nissan vehicle struck and injured the child while he was crossing Partin Settlement Road. The boy’s bus was reportedly traveling down the road when the accident took place and had its amber lights on at the time of the crash; however, it did not have its stop sign activated.
A representative with the Florida Highway Patrol said that the crash remains under investigation, but noted, “technically, a car does not need to stop for amber lights.”
The representative said that currently, drivers in Florida only have to stop when an activated stop sign displays on a bus.
Florida School Bus Stop Law Requirements
Presently, there are state statutes dictating how drivers should respond when they are around a stopped school bus. These laws indicate that when bus stop signs are displayed, on two-lane roads, vehicles driving in both directions must stop.
Only when there is a median or a divided highway can vehicles traveling in the opposite lane continue to commute (drivers heading in the same direction as a bus must stop behind it).
For more information about school bus laws, including graphics showing you how you can respond when you are driving, you can visit the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles’ (DHSMV) “Stop on Red, Kids Ahead” site.
According to the DHSMV, a 2012 study found that more than 21,000 drivers in Florida illegally pass school buses each day. This is unacceptable. Remember, you could potentially be held liable for any accident you are involved in around a school bus.
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Stay safe—you do not want to harm a child. For more information about pedestrian accidents and injuries to children, continue to follow our blog. Additionally, if you have had a loved one injured or killed, you may want to visit our verdicts and settlements page, where you can see how we have successfully represented victims of traffic accidents.