A Lifesaving Inconvenience

The death of a 7-year-old who was struck by a pickup truck passing a stopped school bus in Orange County has raised serious questions about safety.

Thomas Lanni, who was killed, had just moved to California. For unknown reasons, he exited the bus one stop before the one where his mother awaited him on his first day riding the bus, and then crossed the street. The Orange County Sheriff’s Department said the driver of the pickup truck apparently was obeying the speed limit and no charges have been filed.

This case focuses attention on a flaw in state law governing when school buses must use flashing lights. The California Motor Vehicle Code requires their use if children will cross the street; when the lights flash, traffic must stop in both directions. But if children are not required to cross to reach their homes, the code actually bars use of the lights and traffic can pass a stopped school bus in either direction.

The Capistrano Unified School District said neither it nor the bus driver knew that any child crossed the street at the stop in Laguna Niguel. But the effectiveness of lights on school buses shouldn’t be left to the whims of schoolchildren. That section of the code should be changed to require the use of flashing lights whenever children board or exit a school bus. The current law presumes children will not cross, and relies too much on effective prior communication. A change will inconvenience other motorists, but there is no comparison between an extra minute or two stopped in traffic, and the life of a child.