GUILFORD COUNTY, N.C. — One Triad parent is outraged after someone passed a stopped school bus, just seconds before her daughter crossed the road.
Everything was captured on the Ring doorbell camera.
"I was standing in the doorway like I would do in the mornings, waiting for her to catch the bus," said Mary Gee. "Miss Graves turned the corner, right here, immediately stopped, putting lights on her arm out, she laid on the horn in a car just kept going."
Gee says the driver ignored the red flashing lights and drove past the school bus on Tuesday morning.
"I was like hopefully she stopped, and luckily when I looked because I was still in the doorway, she stopped. Because again, most kids would've started right across the road and not even think twice about it," said Gee.
"Passing the stop school bus is one of the most serious traffic violations that a motorist can commit," said Major Antonelli with the Guilford County Sheriff's office.
He says this likely happens more often than we realize and there is never a reasonable excuse for passing a stopped school bus.
"If we see these violations, we will stop the motors and issue a citation. Sometimes things happen in officers don't know about it, they don't see it I said things do happen that we just don't know about," said Major Antonelli.
In 2022, a state-wide survey showed 2,748 of the state's 9,648 bus drivers experienced an illegal pass throughout the day.
That's nearly 30% of school buses on the road, statewide.
Here in the Triad, citations are limited.
Greensboro police, High Point police, and the Guilford County Sheriff's office only report 14 school bus-related citations this school year. The Forsyth County Sheriff's Office reported 4 citations. Winston-Salem police did not respond to our request.
Gee is happy her daughter is safe, but she's still frustrated.
She says drivers need to pay attention and obey the law before someone gets hurt or killed, just trying to get to school.
"Make sure they know to stop, check both ways before they actually cross the road. I even thought about from now on standing across the street at our neighbor's [house] so she doesn't have to cross the street. That will at least prevent something if someone is not paying attention," said Gee.
The driver of the car that passed the school bus in the Briarwood neighborhood has yet to be identified or cited.
Passing a stopped school bus is a misdemeanor but does add five points to your license.
If a child gets hurt or killed, that charge is upgraded to a felony.
Major Antonelli reminds you to also remain stopped even after the lights turn off and wait to pass until the bus starts to move.
If you fail to wait for the bus to move, you could still be cited.
Guilford County Schools has installed cameras on the outside of some school buses to help crack down on drivers breaking the law.
As of Friday evening, GCS has not responded to our multiple requests for an interview or to obtain video captured by these school bus cameras.