Don't Back Down

After careful consideration, I have determined that the drivers in and around the Charlotte area have no idea how to use divided highways. They might not even know how to drive. But the divided highway baffles them like absolutely nothing else that I have seen.

In most parts of the United States, it is common for it to be unlawful to pass a stopped school bus (at least one with red lights flashing). The exception to this rule is on the divided highway, where that special division allows for special privilege. It's like the school bus is on an entirely different road, meaning you can pass at will, and safely ignore the fact that they are stopped, red lights or no. The first problem is that drivers in Charlotte seem to have no idea what constitutes a divided highway, so they just don't know when they should stop. That is a problem.

Defining the Divided Highway

Most people will agree that the divided highway is a physical barrier that separates the two directions of traffic, and even in Charlotte this isn't typicaly a problem. What is a problem is that Charlotte doesn't have too many of your typical divided highways.

Sure, you have Independence Boulevard and the Brookshire, but other than that, there just aren't a lot. Most of the rest are just large roads with concrete barriers down the middle. Is this a divided highway? By the strictest definition, YES. It's a physical barrier that separates the traffic flow. That means it's a divided highway. It doesn't matter that it's concrete and not grass, so it means that you can keep going! What is a bit tricker is when those concrete barriers go away - for instance if there is a turning lane going into a neighborhood, and that's where the school bus has decided to stop. That's actually quite difficult.

Because the definition states that there must be a physical barrier separating the traffic, my personal interpretation is that that section would not be a divided highway. But I'm not a lawyer, so if you see it otherwise, let me know what you think about the subject. And if the bus is on the other side of a concrete median? By all means floor it - just remember that there could be kids flying out of the bus doors and headed for your lane somewhere (though hopefully some idiot didn't plan a stop where that might happen).

What If There is No Barrier

If there is no barrier, you're out of luck.

I'm sure you've seen it if you've lived in Charlotte for any length of time. There are people who try and make it past school buses with yellow flashing lights just like they try and make it past yellow lights at intersections. And many of them don't, just like they don't make it through the red light.

There are even people who don't pretend it's yellow, and go past a school bus with red lights flashing and the stop sign out, even without a barrier. Charlotte, even though it's in the South, can be one of the rudest cities you've ever seen for driving. I think it's because of all the poorly planned parking lots. Spend a little time in them and you'll see what I mean. Spend a bit of time behind some public transit buses that stop every hundred feet and you might start to understand why. Charlotte isn't a well-planned city on any level as far as buses go. These buses shouldn't be stopping on major roads, but they do, and lots of people go past at or above the speed limit. But that doesn't make it right, because there is no barrier for miles.