Letter to the Editor

Stop 'stop arm' violators

Monday, December 26, 2011

To the Editor:

It's happened again.

Yes, another one of our local children has been injured due to school bus, stop arm violators.

How hard is it to see a big yellow bus, with flashing red lights and a big red lit stop sign sticking out on the driver's side with flashing red lights?

Evidently, very hard.

Within the past two weeks, there have been two accidents due to stop arm violators. And numerous reports, usually daily, by our dedicated school bus drivers to the local police and sheriff's department, but to no avail.

Are you aware that a stop arm violation is a simple Class A misdemeanor?

That's close to the same penalty as spitting on the sidewalk.

Which is a slap in the face to the families whose children have been injured due to a violation of this sort.

The federal government is always sticking their noses into our local business, telling us that we can't pray, or say the (original) Pledge of Allegiance or post the Ten Commandments ... in our schools. So why don't they make it a felony for stop arm violators?

I urge each and every one of you to contact your congressmen and senators and have this minor violation changed. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that this should, at the least, be attempted manslaughter.

I guarantee that if the police enforced a felony charge for stop arm violators it wouldn't take long for people to wake up and see the big yellow bus with the flashing red lights.

Sincerely,

Paul Wetnight,

Brazil