Whew, I survived the afternoon! I got a subpoena in the mail a couple of weeks ago. A woman had run my ds's bus stop and pled not guilty. So, off to court I went. Long story short, she did not deny going through the intersection, stating that she did so only after carefully checking to be sure there were no other children walking about. however, PA law changed a few years ago so that if a bus has its red lights on at an intersection, the traffic in all 4 directions must wait for them to be turned off before proceeding. Instead of chargig her with running the bus stop, the officer had mercy on her and charged her only with careless driving, , a MUCH lesser charge, of which she was found guilty. I still felt bad--I don't go around looking for ways to get people in trouble, ya know?! But of the 9 kids at our bus sotp, 6 of them are 2nd grade and younger. They're LITTLE kids! She has a small fine, a few points, and court fees to pay. If she had been hit with the bus stop charge, she would have gotten a large fine ($250), court fees, MORE points, and lose her license for 60 days. I would have felt really bad about that--she has 4 children--that would be so difficult to lose a license with a large family. She was just uneducated about the law, but the judge said that "ignorance is no defense." I was content w/ the outcome. I wasn't out for blood, you know? I just want to little ones safe at the bus stop! The police officer was very kind; he could see that I was absolutely petrified! (heaven forbid I'm ever the defendant; I could stress myself right into having a stroke!) I didn't sleep well last night, thinking about this looming today. And today I got a lot of cleaning done, waiting for the time to come
I'm just thankful it's over!
Author
