Month: July 2022

Summer is drawing to a close and it will not be long before school buses make their appearance on New York roads, signaling the beginning of the new school year. The increased traffic in neighborhoods and around school zones can make you impatient and you may be tempted to pass a school bus that is at a stop. But is it really worth the risk of receiving a traffic citation for doing so? Red lights blinking In New York, if a school bus is stopped and has its red lights blinking, all traffic must also come to a stop a minimum of 20 feet behind or in front of the bus to ensure children can exit and enter the bus safely. This includes traffic coming from the school itself. Contrary to popular belief, it applies to divided highways as well. Prior to coming to a stop, the bus driver will turn on the bus’s blinking yellow lights. This serves as a warning to other motorists to slow down and come to a stop. Once stopped, you must remain stopped until the bus driver indicates you can go or the red lights on the bus stop blinking. If you illegally pass […]

One of the surest ways of increasing the penalties for drunk driving is to drive while drunk with children in the car. Nassau County police recently arrested a 51-year-old man after he crashed into a concrete barrier with three teenage girls in the car. The incident According to the police report, the suspect was allegedly drunk when he steered into a concrete barrier while travelling on Route 135. He was transporting three teenage girls when he struck the barrier. When the car stopped, the three girls left the vehicle. The suspect then drove away. One of the girls called 911 to report the incident. The suspect was later arrested at his home. He was charged with endangering the welfare of a child and aggravated DWI. Initial media reports of the arrest did not mention where the three teenagers entered the car or why they did so. The suspect will soon face arraignment in state court and will be required to enter a plea. He is facing significant criminal penalties, including potential incarceration and imposition of a heavy fine. Presumably, he will be charged with multiple counts of child endangerment among other charges. Under New Jersey law, a parent or guardian […]

Prior to the Independence Day holiday, the New Jersey State Police announced that officers were increasing their presence on the state’s roads. Citing the fact that they often see a spike in serious and deadly traffic accidents around July 4, they announced that they were putting over 90 additional officers on traffic patrol duty for the holiday weekend. On a related point, the State Police’s Marine Bureau announced that it would be watching boaters more carefully. It is likely that several local police departments increased their patrols as well. The State Police specifically said that officers would be looking for drunk drivers. The State Police pointed out that, last year, most of the state’s deadly accidents that happened during the July 4 holiday involved alcohol. Holiday partiers, tourists may be facing a drunk driving charge What all of this means is that, in the aftermath of the recent holiday weekend, many residents of New Jerseys’ northern suburbs could be facing a drunk driving charge. Visitors to the area as well as those who used the long weekend to go boating could also be facing legal trouble. It is of course important to drink responsibly at all times, including the holidays. […]