In two separate incidents, motorists were recently caught on camera passing a school bus while the stop sign was out, almost hitting children.

On Tuesday, in Cartersville, Georgia, a man driving a truck almost hit a 15-year-old girl while passing a stopped school bus, reported the AJC Atlanta.

The girl was reportedly crossing the street to board the school bus when she was forced to jump out of the way to avoid being hit, the article reported. A video released Thursday shows the bus coming to a stop and activating the red lights and stop-arm.  The bus driver, Shannon Banks, blew her horn to alert the student that the driver was not going to stop.

The article stated that the truck driver, Blake Tyson Lockwood, was found at his home and arrested on charges of reckless driving, failure to maintain lane, failure to stop for a loading school bus, failure to obey stop sign, unsafe driving and improper right turn.

In another incident, this one in Houston, Texas, FOX26 reported that Josephine Kirk-Taylor was waiting for her daughter’s bus to arrive after her first day of school. The bus reportedly pulled up on the opposite side of the street.  Kirk recorded her daughter get off the bus, which was stopped with its stop-arm and red lights activated, when a motorist sped past.

STN’s data shows that three students have been hit in school bus stop related incidents in the month of August for the 2019-2020 school year. During the 2018-2019 school year, STN recorded and found that 70 students were injured and 17 killed in school bus stop related incidents.

Regardless of more awareness being placed on stop-arm violations, this continues to be an ongoing problem.  Districts continue to try to find ways to alert the public of this major safety problem.

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