Under Illinois law the driver of a vehicle is required to stop their vehicle before meeting or passing any school bus stopped on any highway, roadway, private road, parking lot, school property, or any other location.
The stop is required before reaching the school bus when there is a visual sign on the school bus, such as a stop sign. The charges of passing a school bus are very straight forward but it comes with some very steep penalties.
Penalties for Passing a School Bus
If you have received a ticket for passing a school bus your license is going to be in jeopardy. Although this is a petty offense there are certain mandatory punishments that a judge is required to hand out if you have been issued this ticket.
If you have received a ticket for passing a stopped school bus you will have the ticket on your record permanently because the offense is not eligible for court supervision.
- 1st Offense: a minimum fine of $300 and a license suspension for a minimum of 3 months
- 2nd Offense: a minimum fine of $1,000 and a license suspension for a minimum of 1 year.
Defenses
There are several defenses at your disposal if you have been charged with this offense. This is a petty offense and therefore the burden to prove you guilty is low but some of the common defenses are listed below:
- The school bus was moving
- You stopped for the school bus
- The sign on the school bus was not working
- There were four lanes and you were traveling in the opposite direction
- Get the ticket amended to another charge!
If you have been charged with passing a stopped school bus, then you are going to want to hire a traffic lawyer that can help you fight the charges.
Even for your first offense you are subject to a license suspension for at least three months and a minimum fine of $300.
Our skilled traffic lawyers are fighting on behalf of Illinois motorists in courtrooms across Cook County and the higher Chicago area nearly every day. We will defend you, offering your case the specific attention that it is worthy of, and do whatever we can to ensure that you have the best possible result. Call the Chicago Traffic Lawyers today!