Milton police crack down on drivers passing stopped school buses

NORTH FULTON COUNTY, Ga. — Milton police say they get frequent complaints about drivers who pass stopped school buses and they’re warning drivers that officers are on the lookout.

On Monday afternoon, Channel 2′s Bryan Mims found oncoming traffic passing a stopped school bus with its lights flashing and stop sign out on Ga. Highway 9 near Deerfield Parkway.

Minutes later, on the same highway, a Milton officer stopped a driver for failing to stop for a bus.

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“We’re out here trying to make sure kids are safe, that bus drivers are safe, and that if the lights are flashing, just stop and slow down,” Lt. Andrew Noblett of the Milton Police Department said. “As law enforcement, it’s our job to make people safe, so that’s what we’re out here to do.”

Some buses in Fulton County have cameras to catch offenders in the act.

Video from North Fulton County a few years ago shows cars passing by school bus stop signs.

After Milton police posted about the problem Monday, someone commented “I watched this happen today.”

Noblett said many complaints come from the bus drivers themselves.

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When police get complaints, he said officers often follow the bus drivers along their routes to look for violators.

Here’s the law: On a two-lane road, or a four-lane highway without a median separation, both directions of traffic must stop for school buses. For a divided highway with a barrier or grassy median, oncoming traffic is not required to stop.

Noblett said passing a stopped school bus could result in a $795 fine or higher.

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