Car Rolls Over After Striking School Bus in Charlotte, North Carolina

CHARLOTTE, NC- Patch.com writes that a vehicle overturned early this week and ended up on the sidewalk after striking a school bus. Witnesses to the incident say the driver attempted to pass traffic and ended up hitting the bright yellow bus. One student was on the school bus when the driver hit the vehicle.*

The North Carolina State Highway Patrol just launched its safety program, “Operation Stop Arm,” which is aimed at reducing the number of traffic violations in and around school zones. The stop arm on a school bus is used to halt traffic from driving around the bus while it is dropping off or picking up students. Driving around the stop arm increases the risk of pedestrian crashes involving school kids. Violating the stop arm on a school bus is a Class One misdemeanor in North Carolina. A person found guilty of this violation will get five points on their license and will be hit with a $500 fine. If the driver strikes a person while passing a bus with its stop sign arm extended, the crime becomes a felony. 

Images from the scene of the crash show the car on its side on the sidewalk near the bus. The results of the accident could have been far worse. 

While school buses are designed for safety, students who ride buses to and from school are most vulnerable during pickups and drop-offs when they may be crossing the road around a bus. As such, it is important that drivers remember to use extra caution when driving around schools and school buses, as children are known to take unexpected actions.

Accident News is a safety and education initiative from Montlick & Associates, designed to help people better understand and thereby avoid common accident causes.  To learn more about our injury prevention programs, including iridesafe.com - click here. We hope you are never in an accident, but if you or family member are injured, call Montlick & Associates 24/7 for your free consultation at 1-800-LAW-NEED (1-800-529-6333) or use our live chat at Montlick.com.

Source:https://patch.com/north-carolina/charlotte/car-trying-pass-traffic-hits-school-bus-flips-report