SHELTON, Wash. — Washington bus drivers counted 1,750 cars illegally passing stopped buses on a single day across the state.
On average, 78,239 drivers illegally pass stopped buses every school day, according to the National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation Services.
Parents and South Sound school districts said there is no excuse.
“We've had cars drive past our bus at 55 mph with the stop paddle out,” said Jacquie MacAlevy.
MacAlevy is sick of seeing drivers speed past her kids' bus. Not only is she a parent, she works for the Shelton School District.
"I put kids on the bus every single day and there will be days cars will just fly past our bus. They don't even slow down,” she said.
MacAlevy caught a driver on her phone speeding past her children’s bus stop.
Gary Cress is a Shelton bus driver. He said he sees the dangers daily.
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"You got red lights, a big yellow bus, yellow lights flashing and people just seem to want to go around or don't see it. They're texting or they're on their phones,” said Cress.
This week, five children around the country, including a 9-year-old girl and her twin 6-year-old brothers in Indiana, were hit and killed by cars at their school bus stop.
“A whole family was wiped out with somebody choosing to pass a school bus,” said Mason County Sheriff Casey Salisbury.
Salisbury said there's no excuse for such behavior and he's sick of seeing people break the law.
"Even when buses put the bus paddles out that say 'stop,' you've got people going past those. It results in tragedy,” he said.
Parents are pleading with drivers to pay attention. For children, it can mean the difference between life and death.
“They need to stop. My kids depend on it. Your kids depend on it. Everyone's kids depend on it,” said parent Benjamin Savage.
Drivers caught illegally passing a stopped bus in Washington can be fined hundreds of dollars.
Cox Media Group
