Washington Township bus driver quits, says he's fed up with stop-arm violations

INDIANAPOLIS — A former bus driver for the MSD of Washington Township said he was fed up with stop-arm violations and quit.

Todd Hanson, a school bus driver with the district for 12 years, quit after a March 24 incident. Three kids were within inches of being plowed by a driver ignoring the bus stop arm.

"I'm yelling 'Stop, stop!'" Hanson said. "When you can't stop for a school bus, that's despicable."

Before working with the MSD of Washington Township, he worked with kids for years at Indianapolis Public Schools where he earned a number of employee awards.

He said he had to quit in order to try to get public support to help and change to get children safely off at bus stops.

"These kids need to be safe. Please, please help them and help these other bus drivers," he said.

Since April 13, 2021, he sent multiple emails asking his supervisors to crackdown on these bus violations. While his messages were answered, he felt his concerns didn't lead to results.

WRTV sat down with the district's director of transportation and police chief. They said they have been working on the problem.

The district looked at moving the bus stop but the option wasn't better or safer.

"Kids are getting on and off the bus, and have to do safely," Brent England, the district's transportation director, said. "Don't go around the bus."

The school's police chief, Roosevelt Lindsey, said patrols were sent to River Bend apartments and the video was shared with IMPD.

"It's a nationwide issue," Lindsey said. "We all need to slow down a little bit and think about others."

That's what parents at the apartments want. They told WRTV in Spanish they're fed up with the reckless drivers.

"They don't think the kids are important. That's irresponsible," Laura Daniel said.

"We work but can't leave the kids alone to board the bus," Amanda Vega said. "We don't trust the people in the vehicle."

They said their kids miss their former bus driver.

The district will install new cameras over the summer. The buses will go from about three to seven cameras.

Cameras will be added to the bus stop arms to get better pictures of license plates.

A ticket for running a school bus stop arm could cost between $125 and $250.