New August law carries $250 fine if you don’t stop in the road at the right time – more cops were hired to write tickets

AUTHORITIES say they are beefing up law enforcement as they raise the penalty for passing school buses.

As children return to school, Connecticut State Senator Herron Gaston pushed to incorporate laws that crack down on drivers making a major road safety violation.

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Getty

He implemented the legislation now allowing police to hit drivers with a fine of up to $250 for illegally passing stopped school buses.

Governing officials can additionally issue fees if a driver is captured on school bus cameras breaking the rule, local NBC affiliate WVIT reported.

“I don’t think we can afford to lose our precious young people due to folks violating the rules of the road,” Gaston said.

The proceeds from the corresponding tickets that car owners pay in turn go to the officials of the towns and cities to increase education measures and public safety.

“That means hiring additional police officers to be in the area to patrol the area,” he added.

“Or whether or not there may be other safety measures, like maybe putting speed bumps.”

Even the American Automobile Association has joined officials in encouraging drivers to be extra cautious as buses and parents hit the road to get kids to school.

Some reminders the AAA announced as schools open for the Fall season include slowing down, coming to a full stop, eliminating distractions, and obeying traffic signals.

“When you are driving, especially in a residential neighborhood, put your phone down, scan the roadway,” AAA of Greater Hartford spokesperson Tracy Noble told WVIT.

“Unfortunately, annually across the country we do see tragedies because of cars passing school buses.”

Parents in areas implementing the law changes look forward to finding out whether the regulations will actually enhance road safety.

Melissa Paul-Perez is a mother of two who lives in West Hartford.

She hopes the fines will be a deterrent and lead to drivers respecting the roadways.

“It’s really upsetting to think as a parent to think about your kids being on the bus,” Paul-Perez said.

How to fight a speeding ticket

According to a legally reviewed post, there are five effective strategies to fighting a speeding ticket if it was wrongfully issued.

1. If pulled over and issued a ticket, drivers can argue or dispute a driver’s personal opinion. When issuing a speeding ticket, an officer is required to write their opinion and come to an “objective” conclusion. If the ticket was written based on that judgment, it can be contested. An example would be if you were going 75 mph in a 65 mph zone because others were traveling at the same speed, you could argue that it would be more dangerous to travel at 65 mph.
2. You can dispute the officer’s presentation of evidence. If you were ticketed for something like running a stop sign or making an illegal u-turn, you can’t contest that if an officer saw you, but you can call things into court like eyewitnesses, diagrams, or photos.
3. Argue that the ticket was issued by a “mistake of fact.” This is tricky, but a “mistake of fact” is a mistake made by a driver about a situation that was beyond their control, or if a driver legitimately did not know they were violating the law. For example, you were driving in two lanes because the lane markers were so worn down that you could not see them.
4. You could say circumstances justified your driving. You could say you were speeding to pass a possibly drunk driver, or avoiding an accident by rapidly changing lanes. However, the argument won’t work if there’s proof you continued to speed after passing.
5. Similar to the above, it could be argued that speeding was necessary to avoid harm. The key is to argue that if you weren’t speeding, you or someone else could have been harmed.
6. Consult a traffic attorney, if all else fails. Many have free consultations to decide whether or not there’s a case.

Source: FindLaw

“Getting off the bus and being in danger of cars, people who are not paying attention.”

Lots of residents still have serious concerns for their children.

Steven Maritzer maintains his worries for the safety of his kids and even other pedestrians on the road.

He stressed that it’s already a law in place requiring drivers to stop for buses and it’s been being ignored.

“That’s a law,” he said.

“You stop at a stop sign. You stop at the bus. Even if you don’t have kids, you want to be safe for everyone on the road, so you want to pay attention.”