Failure to stop for school bus with flashing lights

I was cited for not stopping for a school bus with flashing lights. I didn't see the bus otherwise I would've stopped for it and I believe I didn't see it because traffic was blocking my view. Going back to the scene to take pictures, I noticed that traffic backs up quite a ways in this area so that's why I believe I couldn't see the bus. I would like to plea not guilty but not sure if it would do any good.

Please elaborate on this. Buses tend to be quite large and difficult to miss -- even in heavy traffic. If, by chance, there was a convoy of commercial trucks that truly blocked your view, you might have an argument here.

The officer would not elaborate on the situation so I have very little to go on except what I observed the following day around the same time of the citation, when I went to the approximate location to try and understand what happened. I was headed southbound and from what I observed the following day, the bus was probably headed northbound. The street is a very busy street with many large semi trucks, buses and various sized veicles traveling on it and has two lanes on each side. There is a turning lane and baracade on each side of the turning lane on the southbound side where the bus stopped, which is where I suspect there may have been traffic that was backed up. The bus that I saw that stopped there was one of the smaller ones, not a full sized one.

What's the statute number that you were cited for?

How many lanes in each direction are there? If there is just one lane in each direction, you will have a hard time making the case that you could not have seen the bus. If it was two or more lanes in each direction, then you might be able to make the case that your view was blocked by large vehicles. The problem with that is that you don’t seem to recall whether you just missed it or whether, in fact, your view was blocked. Moreover, it will be just your testimony against that of the cop, and the court will likely be skeptical of your testimony unless you can back it up. Certainly if you can show that much of the traffic on that road consists of large vehicles that would block the view of the bus, that would help.

Your lack of knowledge of what happened is a real problem.

If you really want to challenge this (I would think traffic school might be a far better option, if available), you should look into if/how you can seek discovery from the officer regarding the incident.

Offense # is 811.155.

There are two lanes on each side of the road including a turning lane in the center on my side of the road, which is the location of where the bus stops. The photos I took, show the traffic backing up enough to block my view if a large enough of a vehichle were in that left lane or the turning lane. Also in the photos, are numerous large vehichles traveling that road. I'm concerned the court would find me negligent for not seeing the bus... period, even though my view could have been blocked. I suspect they will take the officer's word over mine but don't want to assume.

The problem with that argument is that if there are other cars on the road, they would have all been stopped in compliance with the statute and thus, you had to pass stopped vehicles which says more that you just weren't paying attention that than your view was blocked...I'd suggest looking into traffic school.

So you had to go around the other traffic to go past the bus. That seems to indicate that you were not paying attention to the cause of the backup - clearly everyone else saw the bus and stopped.

How can traffic school help me decide whether to plea "Guilty" or "Not guilty"? Isn't that something the court sends you to when they think it's necessary due to traffic violations?

In a lot of states, a person charged with a traffic offense can opt to take a traffic school course to prevent the offense and subsequent points from showing up on their DMV printout. Apparently OR doesn't have such a program. In your state, DMV orders participation after the accumulation of points and/or accidents.

Thank you for clarifying my question about traffic school. I appreciate that! I think trying to describe what had happened rather than showing photos or drawings has not helped in visualizing my situation. I can't help but think that because I broke the law according to the officer, then maybe it doesn't matter whether my view was blocked or not... I still broke the law. I'm still on the fence about whether I should plea "Guilty" or "Not guilty".

I am not a lawyer, but if I were in your shoes I would plead "not guilty" but be fully prepared for whatever consequences there are to being found guilty. (Take your checkbook to the court.)

It seems to me that you have little to lose by going to court and saying "Your Honor, I did not see the school bus.".

The judge can say "Too bad, you're still guilty" or "I'm going to let you off this one time, but be more careful from now on.".

I appreciate your direct answer... thanks.