ORANGE COUNTY PERSPECTIVE : A Lifesaving Inconvenience

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

The victim, Thomas Lanni, had just moved to California and it was his first day riding the bus. For unknown reasons, he exited the bus one stop before the one where his mother awaited him in Laguna Niguel and he then attempted to cross the street. The Orange County Sheriff’s Department said the driver of the truck appears to have been obeying the speed limit. 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 planned to cross the street at the stop. But the use of flashing lights on school buses shouldn’t be left to the whims of schoolchildren. That section of the code should be changed to require flashing lights whenever children board or exit a school bus. The current law relies too much on communication between youngsters and drivers.

A change would inconvenience some motorists, but stopping in traffic for an extra minute is a small price for saving a child’s life.