Published by The Davis Law Group, P.C.
Many of us have read with interest the story of the Mt. Prospect, Illinois school bus driver who was recently charged with aggravated DUI.
Before boarding the bus to begin her afternoon route, a co-worker observed that the driver had an odor of alcohol. The co-worker reported this to the driver’s supervisor after the driver had already left on her route with approximately 50 children on board. While on her route, the supervisor caught up with and boarded the bus. However, the supervisor did not detect any odor and did not believe the driver displayed any obvious signs of intoxication. The supervisor eventually informed the police allowed the driver to continue and complete her route.
Once the route had been completed, the police asked the driver to submit to a breath test which indicated a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 3 times the legal limit. The driver was then arrested.
There will be substantial fallout from this unfortunate incident. Needless to say, the driver is facing termination from her job. Additionally, the driver’s supervisor and other school officials have had their actions (or lack thereof) questioned. Parents are naturally upset that the driver was even allowed to board the bus at all and once having done so, are upset that the driver was allowed to complete her route even after being confronted by her supervisor.
The law in this area is murky. Federal law appears to prohibit taking action against a driver solely upon the report of alcohol use by a “third party”. The law instead requires that the observation of alcohol use be made by a trained supervisor who can observe clear symptoms of alcohol use. The school district superintendant has claimed that the law, in this case was followed. Nevertheless, this ‘technical’ claim that the letter of the law was followed is understandably of little comfort to the parents of the children who were on that bus or reside in that school district.
For the bus driver, the law is very clear. Of course, anyone facing the criminal charge of DUI is advised to contact an Illinois DUI attorney. Under Illinois law, any person who drives a school bus with a child under the age of 18 while under the influence may be charged with a felony DUI. Assuming that the driver is a first time DUI offender, she faces 1-3 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections, a fine of up to $25,000.00, the revocation of her driver’s license, loss of her permit to operate a school bus, as well as other penalties. It is important to note that school bus driver may not operate a school bus with any alcohol in their systems.
While the potential penalties are severe, they probably will not be enough to satisfy the concerns of the parents. I would expect to see significant policy changes in the Mt. Prospect school district where this occurred as well as in other school districts throughout Illinois.
School bus driver arrested for DUI on the job, Suntimes.com, March 10, 2010