Buffalo Grove Police ride school buses

Buffalo Grove Police officers ditched their patrol cars and were hitching rides on school buses as part of National School Bus Safety Week, Oct. 18-22.

They rode school buses with an eye out for traffic violators, particularly motorists who fail to stop for a school bus that has its “stop” sign activated.

An officer posted by the bus driver acted as the spotter, radioing other officers upon seeing a violation.

“Most school bus crashes where children are either injured or killed have been directly related to students boarding or exiting the busses.” said Sgt. Scott Kristiansen. “Many times when kids get off the school bus, they have to cross the street and they're not paying attention to traffic.”

It is unlawful for a driver to pass a school bus that has stopped to load or unload children when its stop signal arm is extended. An exception is when the driver is on a highway with four or more lanes with at least two lanes of traffic in either direction. A driver going in the opposite direction of the bus does not have to stop.

The penalty for a conviction is a three month license suspension and $150 fine for the first offense.