Perspectives on School Bus Law

* Re “School Bus Law Doesn’t Stop ‘em All,” Jan. 30:

I feel deeply for the loss of a son suffered by Thomas Lanni that resulted in the revised school bus flashing light law. But a bad law written for the right reason remains a bad law.

Shortly after the Lanni law became effective, I approached a school bus that was facing me with its lights flashing. I stopped and waited for something to happen. Nothing did. No children were getting on or off the bus. In fact there were no children to be seen outside the bus.

Unsure of what to do next, I thought it safe and legal to proceed. Big mistake. I was slapped with a $406 fine. In addition, the insurance company that has underwritten me for 35 accident-free years jacked my rates $150 a year after calling to scold me for my behavior.

OK, so ignorance of the law is no excuse, but the real fault here lies with a law that prevents the bus driver from using his or her discretion as to when it is necessary to flash school bus lights.

The financial setbacks for my misdeed pale in comparison to the unspeakable loss suffered by Lanni and his family. I cannot imagine the pain caused by the loss of a child, especially under such senseless and tragic circumstances.

But holding the rest of us hostage for [one accident] serves no useful purpose. I have observed a local school bus sitting by the side of the road for a full 10 minutes with its lights flashing, waiting for students to arrive for boarding.

Cars were lined up in both directions while alongside the bus mothers finished packing lunch boxes, combed their children’s hair and passed out last-minute instructions.

Finally the dam burst. Through ignorance of the law or frustration motorists proceeded on despite the flashing lights.

A mandatory stop for flashing red lights on a school bus makes sense. It also makes sense to give the drivers we trust with our children’s lives some discretion as to when safety dictates the necessity for flashing their lights.

STEVE LONGO

Laguna Beach

* Parents do not want their children to have accidents in the street as they board or leave a school bus.

Many drivers still ignore flashing red lights and pop-out stop signs. Those drivers disregard the year-old law.

I see many bus drivers holding out stop signs to stop cars, even though they turned on flashing lights and [used] pop-out signs. Why do motorists pay more attention to stop signs and stop lights of traffic signals than to the red lights and pop-out signs of school buses?

An extra five minutes for motorists to wait for children to board or leave school buses means safety first.

KEN DAO

Garden Grove