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Father records drivers not stopping for school bus

Unless there's a physical barrier or unpaved median, drivers on both sides of a road must stop for school buses.

ROCKFORD, Mich. — Parents are saying enough is enough. 

A father is taking to social media with a video of cars not stopping for a school bus on West River Drive. 

The bus is flashing the red lights and the stop sign is extended but cars are still going by, and parents are fed up.

"There are multiple different buses that come on to this road," said Rockford Public Schools parent Bill Babson. "It's very sad."

Babson takes his kids to the bus stop on West River Drive, every morning.

"My 7-year-old has been using this location for the last two school years in order to get on the bus," Babson said.

He took this video on his cell phone in the morning as his daughter's bus was approaching.

RELATED: 'It should infuriate every parent' | Parents fed up with drivers zooming past school buses

"It's a daily occurrence that she's laying on her horn, you can hear it there, to let people know that they're breaking the law," Babson said. "When the bus comes to a stop and those lights come on, kids are coming to the bus. So they could be coming from any direction, any side of the road or whatever."

Babson said the drivers on the opposite side of the road, rarely stop at all.

"I'd say maybe five to 10 percent of the time, people actually stop for the bus," Babson said.

Police have been out there in the mornings to try to ticket those drivers.

"If the police are visible, it kind of defeats the purpose because people don't break laws in front of cops," Babson said. 

So far he said, they haven't been able to catch anyone.

"All that it takes is one mistake to ruin a family's life—even the person who were to have hit a child at a bus stop," Babson said."I could not live with myself if that were to happen."

Babson believes drivers just don't understand the rules. 

"I don't think that people feel that it's illegal when you're on a larger road to pass a bus with their lights on," Babson said.

Unless there is a physical barrier or unpaved median, drivers on both sides of a road must stop for school buses.

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"If we could just educate people and reach some of the people so that they can learn and obey the traffic laws and obey the lights of the school buses, then I think the video did its job," Babson said.

Remember, you can report these incidents to police even if you couldn't catch the license plate of the driver breaking the rules. The more reports law enforcement receive, the better equipped they are to handle these incidents. 

In September, another Rockford Public Schools parent took to social media complaining of the same thing.

If you're caught not stopping for a school bus you face a fine ranging from $250 to $500 and three points against your license.

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