Bus stop violations worry parents

PUTNAM COUNTY, Ind. (WTHI) - Stephen and Kim Lawrenz make sure they're at the bus stop when their third grader arrives home from school.

"People aren't stopping, semi drivers are blowing through the stop sign, cars are blowing through the stop sign, people aren't yielding the buses and paying attention to the kids," Stephen Lawrenz said.

Concerned parents along with North Putnam County School Corporation have complained several times to Indiana State Police about drivers waiting too late to stop or not stopping at all at bus stops.

Indiana State Police Public Information Officer Sergeant Joe Watts said they've written about ten traffic citations in the last two years.

"We try to remind people. It seems to be fairly quiet for a couple of months and then the problem will rear up again," Sergeant Watts said.

So, police and the school corporation invited News 10 to ride along to see for ourselves.

"It's going to vary from week to week. It's usually three or four, five times a week that somebody will run your stop sign," School bus driver Penny Rush said.

Like many bus drivers, Rush said she's protective of her kids.

She does what she can, guiding her students across the street.

"Sometimes it's because you can see that they're on a cell phone. Sometimes its just because they don't want to stop when they see those yellow lights come on, you can actually see them speed up," Rush said.

Thursday, they wrote one traffic citation.

The driver told an officer that he didn't feel he had enough time to stop.

"You have upwards of about 15 seconds warning before the stop arm comes out. They're plenty of warnings before these lights come on," Sergeant Watts said.

As students pile on and off the bus every day, officials and parents remind you to be cautious.

"Be patient, obey the law, and stop. Your careless acts as a driver, whether you're paying attention or not paying attention and choosing not to stop can literally result in the loss of a life to some young child and that would be a parent's worst nightmare," Sergeant Watts said.

If you see a driver in violation, you can contact the Indiana State Police and provide them with evidence.

They have up to two years to write them a traffic citation.

If you're in violation, citations range from $150 to $10,000 and possible jail time, depending on the severity of the case.