So I got a ticket mailed to me from the city of dallas with a picture of me passing a school bus.

I passed a school bus that was stopped in an apartment lane off the road and I was on a 3 lane Northwest Highway. It is a $300 fine.

See the intersection below: the box is where the bus was.


Based on the text below could/should I fight this?

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Sec. 545.066. PASSING A SCHOOL BUS; OFFENSE. (a) An operator on a highway, when approaching from either direction a school bus stopped on the highway to receive or discharge a student:
(1) shall stop before reaching the school bus when the bus is operating a visual signal as required by Section 547.701; and
(2) may not proceed until:
(A) the school bus resumes motion;
(B) the operator is signaled by the bus driver to proceed; or
(C) the visual signal is no longer actuated.
(b) An operator on a highway having separate roadways is not required to stop:
(1) for a school bus that is on a different roadway; or
(2) if on a controlled-access highway, for a school bus that is stopped:
(A) in a loading zone that is a part of or adjacent to the highway; and
(B) where pedestrians are not permitted to cross the roadway.

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That is not a loading zone, it is a right turn lane. You don't have a case.

Was the camera on the bus?

Yes camera is on the bus.

I think you can fight it. That law was made because on some roads, there were kids walking from both sided to meet the bus. I don't think that's going to happen on a highway like that.

And its a civil fine from the city of dallas which seems odd. Not a "moving" violation.

Camera tickets are usually that way. They can't prove it was YOU driving, so they can't ding your license. Just your license plate/registration.

Why the f didn't the school bus just pull into the apartment complex to load/unload kids?

I've had a similar situation where the school bus stops on the 75 frontage road to load kids in the morning instead of doing so from the neighborhood street.

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where pedestrians are not permitted to cross the roadway.

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IMO, that portion of the law is meant for freeways.

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That is not a loading zone, it is a right turn lane. You don't have a case.

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I agree. Maybe you can fight the photo aspect of it.

But otherwise I have little sympathy. Stay the f away from school buses when they are stopped.

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That is not a loading zone, it is a right turn lane. You don't have a case.

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I agree. Maybe you can fight the photo aspect of it.

But otherwise I have little sympathy. Stay the f away from school buses when they are stopped.

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Just pay it and stop next time

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That is not a loading zone, it is a right turn lane. You don't have a case.

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I agree. Maybe you can fight the photo aspect of it.

But otherwise I have little sympathy. Stay the f away from school buses when they are stopped.

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Just pay it and stop next time

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T&P for your body shop repair bill for stopping on that stretch of Northwest Highway. People average 55mph through there between Skillman/Abrams and 75.

They rearend me it is their bill.

This isn't really pertinent to your question, but does the bus pull back into the through traffic lanes from the box or go around the planter in front and merge back into traffic from the entry lane?

Also, I doubt that's a "controlled-access highway."

From wiki:

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A controlled-access highway provides an unhindered flow of traffic, with no traffic signals, intersections or property access.

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I know there are a couple of clover leaf intersections on NW Hwy. But you've got people turning directly on and off of the road from that apartment complex right there. So I doubt that qualifies as controlled access.

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And its a civil fine from the city of dallas which seems odd. Not a "moving" violation.

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That's because they can't prove it was you driving at the time. It's just like a parking ticket in that it's not a criminal charge against you. It's a civil fine levied against you as the owner of the vehicle.

The good news is that, not being a moving violation, you can pay it and it will not affect your driving record or your insurance rates.

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They rearend me it is their bill.

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Yeah... I realized that after I posted.

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does the bus pull back into the through traffic lanes from the box or go around the planter in front and merge back into traffic from the entry lane?

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The bus illegally crosses the solid white line and you damn well know it.

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controlled-access highway

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This is generally referring to a freeway facility as well.

Houston > > > > Dallas

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They rearend me it is their bill.


Yeah... I realized that after I posted.

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maybe so, but you're going to be the one with back problems or worse

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The bus illegally crosses the solid white line and you damn well know it.

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Not illegal to cross solid white lines.

The way I interpret the langauge, unless loading zone describes a specific marked or designated area, you may be in the right. I don't see drives dumping into that freeway. I see an on and off ramp, very compressed in size, but marked with solid white lines. Those are typical of an controlled access section of road. If you zoom out and there are stoplights and no overpasses on that 6 lane, then that's out the window.

That stretch of Northwest Highway is controlled access with a couple of overpasses.

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The bus illegally crosses the solid white line and you damn well know it.

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Is the bus driver allowed to use his flashing red lights and retractable stop sign to help merge the bus into (what should be stopped) traffic, or only for the protection of children while loading and unloading?

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Is the bus driver allowed to use his flashing red lights and retractable stop sign to help merge the bus into (what should be stopped) traffic, or only for the protection of children while loading and unloading?

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Uhh why in the world would they be?

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That stretch of Northwest Highway is controlled access with a couple of overpasses.

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There's an overpass at Skillman. But every other intersection has a traffic light, I believe.

There's a red light at Shady Brook less than a 1/4 mile away from this spot.

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Stay the f away from school buses when they are stopped.

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^^^ THIS ^^^

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That stretch of Northwest Highway is controlled access with a couple of overpasses.

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Controlled access for this example would limiting access on or near ramps. There are not any ramps near this.

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Not illegal to cross solid white lines.

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Sure, on a shoulder and this example ain't one. A RTL has a double white line and it is illegal to cross a double white line.

The bus is breaking the law because I am sure that it is crossing the white line to continue down the road after the kids are dropped off. However, the bus is not getting a ticket. The bus should go into the apartment parking lot to drop off but that would be too inconvenient.

The real problem is that the bus can't safely stop in the outside lane and drop kids off into the RTL because a driver could come around the bus into the RTL and bad things would happen.

Fight it. You're paying it either way, and the presiding authority may decide it's baloney. There's no way kids were going to that side of the bus and he has no business stopping to drop kids off in a right turn lane.

[This message has been edited by ABATTBQ11 (edited 4/29/2014 11:58p).]

What happens if you don't pay it?

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I have little sympathy. Stay the f away from school buses when they are stopped.

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if you don't pay, you can't get a new registration for that vehicle until it is paid. I know first hand.

I think that depends if the district has an agreement with the county that the OP lives in. They likely have an agreement with the county that they are located in, but may not in adjacent counties.

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Sure, on a shoulder and this example ain't one. A RTL has a double white line and it is illegal to cross a double white line.

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Looks like a single white line to me, like most turn lanes are. It is never illegal to cross a single white line, shoulder, turn lane or otherwise.