WINTERSET, Iowa — A high school senior here used a recent school bus passing violation as a learning opportunity and created a video educating others on stopping for stopped buses.

Carson Fulcher, a Winterset High School student, was reported by a school bus driver one day in December 2019 for passing a stopped school bus with its stop arm extended. Part of the penalty Fulcher received was a requirement to complete 12 hours of community service. To meet that requirement, he approached Susie Meade, the superintendent of Winterset Community Schools, with the idea of making an educational video on the topic, Meade told School Bus Fleet.

“I thought it was brilliant, especially since he is interested in pursuing a career in law enforcement,” she added. “This project allowed him to research and better understand the implications of making a decision that could impact the lives of others.”

Meade also described Fulcher as “a great kid who made a poor judgment” and noted that he is taking his experience and “sharing with others how important it is that we all play a role in keeping our students who ride buses safe.”

It was possible for Fulcher to complete community service as part of the stop-arm running penalty he received because of a program started a few years ago by the Madison County Attorney, Meade explained. The program allows first-time offenders to complete 12 hours of community service with students at the district's schools instead of paying the standard penalty of at least $250 but not more than $675. The goal of the program is to get offenders to realize how important it is to student safety to pay attention around school buses.  

Fulcher, who had not made a video before, told SBF that this experience taught him that people can choose to learn from or complain about just about any situation.

“I chose to do the right thing and learn from it while hopefully helping others drive safely around school buses,” Fulcher said.

Watch Fulcher’s video here.