LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB/WAVE) — Videos recorded Thursday at a JCPS bus stop show drivers passing a stopped school bus as children are dropped off on a southeast Louisville road.
Parents captured three drivers on three separate occasions passing a bus stopped on Cooper Chapel Road near the Heritage Creek neighborhood.
In one video, a parent walks in front of a moving car and yells at the driver to stop as children cross the road to board the bus.
According to some neighbors, bus stop or not, drivers stopping is always an issue on the road.
"I mean, it’s clear as day that I’ll be at the stop sign or coming to the stop sign and it’ll be clearly my turn, and they have no regard for it,” Kim Blankenship said. "They just come on through.... like it's not there."
This comes as Kentucky works to implement a new safety law to provide more protection for students crossing roadways.
Under House Bill 7, drivers are now required to stop any time a school or church bus has its signal lights on and its stop-arm out on most roadways.
This includes highways and four-lane roadways with a middle turning lane. The only exception is when a stopped bus is on the opposite side of a highway with four or more lanes divided by an elevated barrier or unpaved median.
Drivers who illegally pass a stopped school bus can receive a $300 civil penalty for a first offense and $500 for additional violations within three years.
But even prior to this new law, Kentucky always required drivers to stop for buses on two-lane roads like Cooper Chapel Road.
"It’s sad. I mean, it’s just, again, it’s like they don’t care that the bus was there," Blankenship said. "You just don’t understand people’s mentality and the lack of respect for humankind."
Matt Sanders, a spokesperson for Louisville Metro Police, said the department is aware of the alleged violations.
"We are reviewing any information that has been brought to our attention and will investigate when sufficient information is available," Sanders said. "At this time, we are still gathering information regarding any specific reports and enforcement activity related to school bus stop-arm violations."
The videos were recorded the same day a crossing guard was hit by a vehicle outside Knight Middle School on Blue Lick Road.
Police said the driver ignored the crossing guard's stop sign. The crossing guard suffered minor injuries, and the driver was detained at the scene.
Thursday afternoon, no one had replaced the crossing guard.
A grandparent, who is a retired JCPS bus driver, stepped up and directed traffic herself.
LMPD encourages anyone who witnessed the violations or has information that could help identify involved motorists to contact the anonymous Crime Tip Hotline at (502) 574-LMPD.
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