ANN ARBOR, Mich. (WXYZ) — In Michigan, the fine for passing a stopped school bus is between $100 to $500. If a couple of bills are signed into law by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, that money could be going back to schools.
RELATED STORY: These are Michigan school bus laws and safety tips ahead of kids going back to school
“You know, I think it’s a great idea,” said Superintendent Dr. Alena Zachary-Ross with Ypsilanti Public Schools.
The bills propose that school districts would have to use the money for transportation safety-related purposes.
“We receive lots of supplemental funds for teachers and for administrators, but oftentimes we can’t use those funds for our transportation staff, and they are so integral in our school districts,” said Dr. Zachary-Ross.
She says that funding could help their district get bus cameras that would capture offending drivers.
Some districts in the state already have the cameras.
“That’s important that that legislation brings about that equity for all districts,” said Zachery-Ross, adding she hopes these laws also deter people from passing stopped school buses.
She’s not the only one who hopes that.
“We got to take care of our kids. There shouldn’t be people that just disregard safety,” said Travis Taylor of Ann Arbor.
Taylor has two kids in Ann Arbor Public Schools. He watches his kids get on and off the bus every day and has witnessed many cars pass the buses. At one point, he decided to start recording the cars and post the videos online to raise awareness.
“Nobody cares; it’s just not important to people. They'd rather get to Starbucks 10 seconds earlier instead of stopping and wait for a child to get on a school bus,” said Taylor.
“You just want to make sure your kids are safe?” Tiarra Braddock asked.
“Yeah, absolutely. That’s my concern,” said Taylor. “That’s the only reason why I do this.”
I also spoke with Officer Mark Kelso from the Ann Arbor Police Department, who shared what officers typically see when it comes to drivers and school buses.
“When the stop sign is out, when all the lights are flashing red, what we typically see is if one person goes through the red signals, a lot of times the other vehicles traveling behind it will continue to follow along as well,” said Kelso.
Meanwhile, Taylor has this message for drivers.
“Stop, just stop. Take 10 seconds out of your busy day. There’s 25-plus children on a school bus — just stop," said Taylor.
