Every day, around 4,000 students from 45 different schools in the Boise School District take the bus to and from school, armed with backpacks filled with folders, textbooks and pencils. That’s not enough to keep them safe from cars.
In Idaho, driving past a school bus with its stop arm extended is a misdemeanor.
But that doesn’t stop people from blowing past the school bus stop signs.
This school year, Durham School Services, the bus service contracted with Boise School District, has reported around 400 stop arm violations, said Gary Hendrickson, Safety and Training Supervisor for Durham School Services. During the 2022-23 school year, there were 760 violations, and 500 during 2021-22, Hendrickson said. Next year, according to Hendrickson, Durham will also serve West Ada School District.
According to the Boise Police Department, anyone who violates this law will be fined $200 for the first offense, $400 for the second offense and $600 on the third offense, as long as the violations occur within five years of each other.