Too many cars don't stop on flashing reds, says school bus driver

HIGHLAND — A bus driver said far too often cars fail to stop when his red lights are flashing while picking up and dropping off students, and on Wednesday, he pleaded with other drivers to obey the law so that kids don't get hurt.

Matt Burch has worked for Alpine School District for 9 years, and in that time, he has witnessed some "really scary things."

"I've seen drivers pass me from behind," Burch said. "I have been in multiple days where we've had five, six, seven, eight people just not paying attention and they're running these things."

He recalled one time when his red lights were on and a car passed on the right side.

"I actually grabbed a hold of the young man, held him back as a car drove right by me," Burch said.

According to Alpine School District Director of Operations and Safety Joe Hayes, incidents like these are believed to happen within district boundaries dozens of times each day.

"On a typical day, we may have 100 to 200 violations of drivers running our reds," Hayes said during an interview with KSL. "I think often times people are in a hurry, impatient, and I think sometimes they don't understand the law and what to do when they see those reds, although they should."

Hayes said many of the district's buses are equipped with cameras that produce high-quality images and video of cars and their lawbreaking drivers, and administrators will forward cases with sufficient evidence to police.

Lone Peak Police Officer Norman Robinson, a school resource officer in the district, said the offense is a class C misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of up to $1,000.

"I know it's underreported, and it does happen quite frequently," Robinson said. "We have some very good drivers in our district that report it and we can get the film and we prosecute for that."

Hayes said so far, the district has been fortunate to avoid a major accident involving a driver running a red light at a school bus. But tragedy has struck elsewhere.

"We know it happens across the nation every year," Hayes said.

Hayes and Burch said they simply want drivers to obey the law and stop while students are loading and unloading from school buses.

"There is nothing more important or (that) I take (more) serious, as a bus driver, as the safety of these children," Burch said. "It is not worth that extra time when you go around a bus to endanger a child or kill a child."

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