Austin looking to make school bus stops safer

AUSTIN (KXAN) - Some Austin City Council members say too many drivers are illegally passing stopped school buses, putting kids in danger.

On Monday, a driver was ticketed for passing a stopped Austin school bus and even crashing into it. Now. council members are going to the city manager hoping to find ways to punish violators more severely.

On Thursday, council members will ask City Manager Marc Ott to consider a new civil penalty ordinance that would help track down drivers passing a stopped school bus and breaking the laws.

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Members say other cities use school bus cameras and real-time analysis to issue penalties.

So, Austin council members want the city to consider if it would be worth similar action here.

The item gained some momentum following an accident Monday in Austin involving a school bus

A bus headed to Gordon Bailey Middle School was stopped along Old Manchaca, waiting for students to get on, when a Jeep attempted to go around the stopped bus on the two lane road.

The Jeep clipped the front end of the bus and rolled into a ditch on the side of the road.

Driver of Jeep ticketed for traffic violations. The 43 students on the bus were not injured, and no one was taken to the hospital.

Council members Kathi Tovo and Chris Riley are sponsoring the ordinance. They are concerned that despite the city's ongoing programs and initiatives drivers continue to illegally pass school buses loading and unloading students.

Parents say the buses themselves are plenty obvious to drivers. So, they say perhaps more patrolling or tougher penalties makes sense.

"I think it's an excellent idea--to try and make penalties a little bit stiffer--as a deterrent--if they're trying to go around a bus or something like that. They're endangering the kids, no matter how safe a driver may think they are," says Poet Powell, a parent of an elementary student.

Other parents say they think drivers are pretty aware of school buses, but say more penalties would be a good thing.

"I think that drivers, for the most part, tend to be respectful of buses, but of course it's always a good idea to increase the restrictions, or the penalties," said Laura Gonzalez, a parent of elementary school kids.