Not all Willow Glen drivers seem to know about the Thomas Edward Lanni School Bus Safety Act of 1997, nor of the tragedy the law was created to prevent.
The act was named in honor of a 7-year-old in the Southern California town of Laguna Niguel. Just two days after his family had relocated from New York, Thomas Lanni got off his bus at the wrong stop and, confused, crossed a street in front of traffic. He was struck down by an oncoming car and died two days later.
The law which bears his name, sponsored by State Senator Bill Morrow, requires that vehicles traveling in both directions stop whenever a school bus is stopped to load and unload students. Previously, the law required only that drivers stop when children were crossing the road.
Enacted one year ago, the law also requires that California school districts create, maintain and submit to the California Highway Patrol a school transportation safety plan, with procedures on how children are to board and exit a bus. Prior to the bill's enactment, California was the only state in the union that did not require its school districts to prepare a transportation safety plan.
In Willow Glen, the law is largely being ignored.
School-bus driver Mary Ruiz says she has witnessed firsthand drivers' failure to stop for school buses. Twice a day she pulls up at Booksin Elementary to deliver and pick up students.
"Very few drivers will stop in either direction when the red lights are flashing," says Ruiz, who began driving the Booksin route this year. To illustrate the problem, Ruiz activated her flashers as four cars approached the bus at the same time students were being released from school. Not one car stopped.
In Santa Clara County, there have always been fines for failing to stop for a school bus, and they've always been stiff. A first-time penalty is $150 to $250. A second ticket for the same violation nets a $500 to $1,000 fine. Failing to stop a third time within three years results in a driver's license suspension of one year.
At Booksin, some drivers are perturbed by this legal requirement, according to Kris Smith, bus site supervisor for the school.
"I've had to go out and talk to drivers who are honking their horns and coming undone because they don't know why they need to stop. The police department has been out several times to issue tickets, but it's still a problem. I just don't think people are informed about the law."
Wendy Carlson, principal at Booksin, says school bus safety is an issue at all schools, not just hers.
"Around the start [of the day] and dismissal times at every school this is a problem," Carlson says. "When the law was first passed, we talked about it at meetings and sent flyers to parents. But still, not everybody knows that they need to stop."
Tom Lanni, the father of the deceased child, says he believes California drivers will eventually come to understand the law, which he lobbied the state legislature to get passed. In an interview with the Resident, Lanni said police and schools each play a role in providing for the safety of children on school buses.
"Compliance is on the rise where there's enforcement, but it's going to take time," Lanni said. "There are 20 million drivers in California to educate. It's a matter of conditioning.
"A parked school bus is a visual obstruction and a danger. Motorists need to respect that and respect the children on that bus."
A parent of two Booksin students and witness to cars cruising by school buses' flashing lights, Laurie Butterfield raises her eyebrows at drivers not knowing the law.
"It says right on the back of the bus 'Stop when lights are flashing.' Black type on a yellow bus. It's hard to miss."
"What's it going to take for drivers to slow down and stop? The death of another child?"
Willow Glen, California Since 1992
