5/3/99 - Temecula, CA

I believe government is a tool to make lives better. I often think legislation can remedy dangers. Sometimes though, good intentions compound problems. This is the case with the current school bus safety law requiring bus drivers to activate flashing red lights and stop signs whenever students are loading or unloading a bus.

I can see I may have jumped on this bandwagon. Who could be against
the safety of children on school buses? In fact, no one was. The Thomas Edward Lanni School bus Safety Act of 1997 passed both the Assembly and the Senate, unanimously.

A little history. Thomas Edward Lanni was seven years old when he was killed crossing the street after exiting his school bus. In response, Senator Marion Bergeson authored a bill in 1994 requiring bus drivers to activate flashing lights and stop sign at any stop where children had to cross a road.

In 1997, with the support of the Lanni family, Senator Bill Morrow introduced a bill requiring traffic to stop at all bus stops whether students must cross the street or not. Not enough drivers, Morrow argued, noted the flashing lights, etc. of school buses, and a requirement for all traffic to stop, going both directions, all the time, was needed to truly provide protection. Hence, our current law.

Well, he was right on that. With a $400 plus ticket looming, I do note school buses with a keener eye. However, I am unconvinced we have made students any safer. Rather, bus loading has become more hazardous where I pick up my kids.

School buses at Margarita Middle School park northbound on Margarita Road, a four-lane, divided roadway. Several dangers occur. First, traffic travelling southbound is confused about their obligation to stop at the flashing lights. Although they are not required to stop as the
road is divided, many drivers do, pulling up short on a very busy road (I have seen this happen on Nicolas Road too), surprising drivers coming around the bend behind them. The school officer does go out and wave them on, but it is an accident waiting to happen.

Second, as traffic comes to a standstill in the northbound lanes until buses are loaded, many drivers picking students up in cars, pull out behind the stop signs to wait. Students then meander through three lanes of stopped or parked cars, to get to their ride.

I don’t believe any middle schooler was in danger when they loaded their bus at the curb. Now, this well-intentioned law has not only created the dangerous situation of small bodies wandering through stopped vehicles, but a potential for accidents from traffic suddenly coming to a halt, oftentimes mistakenly. The Morrow bill analysis did mention the hazard of increased accidents, but noted severe accidents would be reduced.

I am sorry little Edward Lanni was killed. I am not blaming his parents for not teaching him to look both ways before he crossed the street. This law however, is clearly a case of the cure being worse than
the disease.

Note: AB 1573 is currently making its way through committee. It modifies the current law, giving the CHP local authority to exempt locations where more hazards are created than guarded against by current law. Gov. Wilson vetoed similar legislation last year. You can access information on this bill by going to www.sen.ca.gov or by speaking with local Californian legislators.