(Western Mass News – Glenn Kittle) Western Mass News has obtained video of a close call at a school bus stop in Agawam that is raising safety concerns. We showed the video to one state legislator who said that the situation could have been fatal.
The video obtained by Western Mass News shows an SUV driving past a school bus just as the stop sign was being deployed in Agawam.
Western Mass News showed it to State Senator John Velis. He said that if the little girl in the video had not waited to cross the street, the outcome could have been deadly.
“I mean it’s awful,” he said. “You see a little kid, it looks like a little girl, walking toward the direction of the car. It was an SUV. Needless to say, God forbid, it’s likely a child would’ve lost a life.”
As for where the law stands on this, we looked it up and it said, in part:
“In Massachusetts, it is illegal to pass, ‘When approaching a vehicle which displays a sign bearing the words, ‘SCHOOL BUS’ and which is equipped with front and rear alternating flashing red signal lamps which are flashing.’ There is a minimum of a $250 fine for any violation. Repeat offenders can be fined up to $2,000 and have their license suspended.”
Senator Velis said that, while the stop sign is not fully extended when the car passes in the video we showed him, the lights are on, meaning the car should have come to a halt.
“When the lights, right? That’s the first indicator that I would argue to anybody,” he told us. “Just this morning, I had saw it. I happened to be behind a bus. To me, when those lights are on, you know that stop sign is coming out.”
Senator Velis added that a better way to catch people blowing through school bus stop signs would be the implementation of cameras on the stop signs themselves, something that he said is common in other states, but not yet in the Bay State.
“There is legislation that has been filed,” he said. “They would put these cameras on the buses. One of the problems is the enforceability, difficult at times. It is very difficult to enforce this. There has to be someone around to see it.”
Senator Velis told us that, ultimately, it comes down to drivers being more attentive.
“People need to follow the law,” he said. “It is widely known that when those lights go on and it stops and comes out, you have to stop. End of story.”