If you are in a hurry, tempted to drive around that school bus, which is loading and unloading children, think again. Police in O'Fallon Illinois are cracking down on you and others who put children in jeopardy.
The officers are boarding buses, riding the school buses with the children, and gathering evidence which will help them prosecute you later. Police Sgt. Michael Schaefer gives News 4 a "one on one" look at the new program, in its early phase. And while talking to us, an alert Sgt. Schaefer even manages to nab a motorcyclist , who drives around a school bus while children are getting on the bus, near an elementary school.
Up until now Schaefer points out that the job of catching those violators was the responsibility of the bus drivers. They would have to write down information on a form, including the license plate number, description of the driver, description of the vehicle. The form was faxed to the police. And Sgt. Schaefer, the traffic safety coordinator for his department says it resulted in few prosecutions.
Now officers will be riding the school buses in the morning and afternoon. They will be writing down your license plate numbers, description of your vehicle and you. Plus some officers will be using their digital cameras to take photos of you leaving the scene of the crime. And do not expect to get pulled over and see your citation immediately. Sgt. Schaefer says once they are back at the police station ,officers will finish the paper work, and notify you about your traffic ticket.
The penalties are steep. Sgt. Schaefer says first time offenders can expect to pay $150 dollars in fines and possibly have their drivers license suspended for 3 months. Second time offenders could face fines of $500 dollars and having their license suspended for up to one year.
But for some families who have children in the district, those penalties are a small price to pay. We found Thomas Stogner near the yard where all the school buses are parked. His grand daughter is a student in the district. Stogner tells us he absolutely agrees with the new program. The safety of his grand daughter and other children is most important. He wants to make sure that all drivers stop, when children are getting on and off of those school buses. And Stogner hopes this program will accomplish that.
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