# Do cops ever pull over buses? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 17, 2012, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-cops-ever-pull-over-buses/638027 "2012-10-17T16:36:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2012, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-cops-ever-pull-over-buses/638027/1 "2012-10-17T16:36:44Z")
Simple enough question. Do cops ever pull buses (public or private) for moving violations? I’ve never seen it happen, but it seems like it would result in a lot of pissed off passengers. ---
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2012, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-cops-ever-pull-over-buses/638027/2 "2012-10-17T16:40:28Z")
This may not be a shining example, but I know a cop who pulled over a school bus because one of the passengers (high school kid) flipped him the bird. Probably not a great idea…made even worse by the fact that he was in the middle of a prisoner transport. So he left the guy in his car when he got out to talk to the kid. He got busted a rank, he’s lucky he didn’t get fired. ---
**Author:** ![chrisk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@chrisk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chrisk)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2012, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-cops-ever-pull-over-buses/638027/3 "2012-10-17T16:41:26Z")
I ride the bus a lot, and I’ve never had that happen to a bus I was on. Mechanical breakdowns, yes. Bus drivers taking the wrong turn and having riders point it out to them too late, yes. A quick search on google news for “bus driver pulled over by police” didn’t get anything that looked relevant, though maybe with tweaked keywords we could find something. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2012, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-cops-ever-pull-over-buses/638027/4 "2012-10-17T16:42:05Z")
On our way to Disney World in 1997 the high school band’s “coach” bus (as in not a school bus) got pulled over for speeding. I think we were in Virginia. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2012, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-cops-ever-pull-over-buses/638027/5 "2012-10-17T16:42:50Z")
I was on a school bus that was pulled over for a moving violation (young bus driver). I can’t recall whether he got a ticket or not, though. Mid-1980s, San Diego. ---
**Author:** ![newme](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e0b2c6/32.png) [@newme](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/newme)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2012, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-cops-ever-pull-over-buses/638027/6 "2012-10-17T16:59:09Z")
Our hiking club charters buses for long camping trips. One of their favorite stories is of the time the bus got pulled over somewhere out in desolate West Texas. It turns out the driver had an outstanding arrest warrant. The police allowed him to drive the bus to the nearest truck stop, then took him into custody. All the passengers had to wait around several hours until a new driver could be brought in. We don’t use that bus company anymore. ---
**Author:** ![picker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/picker/32/13969_2.png) [@picker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picker)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2012, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-cops-ever-pull-over-buses/638027/7 "2012-10-17T17:08:57Z")
Ask Willie Nelson or Fiona Apple. ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2012, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-cops-ever-pull-over-buses/638027/8 "2012-10-17T17:09:47Z")
Yes they do pull them over, mostly in [Texas](http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/welcome-sierra-blanca-texas-black-378842). Just ask [Willie](http://gawker.com/5700076/willie-nelson-arrested-for-hotboxing-tour-bus), [Nelly](http://www.tmz.com/2012/10/11/nelly-arrested-weed-gun-possession-texas-heroin/), [Snoop](http://www.coloradosprings.com/articles/snoop-13409-patrol-dogg.html) and [Fiona](http://wtvr.com/2012/09/20/texas-sheriff-fiona-apple-arrested-after-hashish-found-on-tour-bus/). ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2012, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-cops-ever-pull-over-buses/638027/9 "2012-10-17T17:09:57Z")
I wonder if they’re more likely to pull over a school or private bus than say a city bus or Greyhound. I was on a city bus years ago that waited for cops to show up and arrest some rowdy (and I believe armed) kids. ---
**Author:** ![Catamount](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/catamount/32/2840_2.png) [@Catamount](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catamount)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2012, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-cops-ever-pull-over-buses/638027/10 "2012-10-17T17:11:46Z")
I’ve seen city buses pulled over a couple of times in my town. Usually because there was a “person of interest” on the bus that the cops were after. ---
**Author:** ![lawbuff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/13edae/32.png) [@lawbuff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lawbuff)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2012, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-cops-ever-pull-over-buses/638027/11 "2012-10-17T18:24:32Z")
> [@SpazCat](#): > > I’ve seen city buses pulled over a couple of times in my town. Usually because there was a “person of interest” on the bus that the cops were after. IMO, that would not be constitutional grounds to seize (pull over) the bus, a person of interest simply means they may possess information pertinent to a case, it does not mean they have a warrant out, etc. Since ALL aboard can challenge the constitutionality of the stop, that is, a possible UNreasonable seizure, the officer may be in trouble, of course until the Brendlin case by SCOTUS several years back, the courts were at odds on if all passengers or just the driver was seized during a traffic stop. ---
**Author:** ![Toucanna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3bc359/32.png) [@Toucanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toucanna)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2012, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-cops-ever-pull-over-buses/638027/12 "2012-10-17T19:27:49Z")
> [@SpazCat](#): > > I’ve seen city buses pulled over a couple of times in my town. Usually because there was a “person of interest” on the bus that the cops were after. Same here. In the mid-1990s, two cop cars with sirens and lights going pulled over the city bus I was on. Two or three cops stormed on, headed to the middle of the bus, spoke with a guy who had gotten on recently, then handcuffed him and dragged him off the bus. The bus driver closed the doors after them and we continued on our merry way. This happened in a rough part of town and few passengers commented on what happened. We’d seen worse happen on that line. ---
**Author:** ![Canadjun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/76d3ee/32.png) [@Canadjun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Canadjun)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2012, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-cops-ever-pull-over-buses/638027/13 "2012-10-17T19:33:45Z")
I’ve been on one of our buses for the disabled (DATS - which is part of the Edmonton Transit System) when it got pulled over for speeding. The driver did get a ticket. Driver asked me if I could chip in to help pay (since he would be paying the cost out of his own pocket). I said no. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2012, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-cops-ever-pull-over-buses/638027/14 "2012-10-17T19:41:18Z")
Pulling over buses, don’t know. But a state trooper once \*pushed \*our school-type bus up the hill just north of the Golden Gate Bridge. Somehow he determined our engine or transmission was failing; we were going slower and slower, and suddenly we saw the cop car engage with the rear bumper and move us forward, off the bridge and into a side lane not far from Sausalito. Maybe he sensed that we could block the bridge if we totally crapped out, which we did later, and had to call for a replacement bus. We didn’t get a ticket. ---
**Author:** ![sevenwood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6de8d8/32.png) [@sevenwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sevenwood)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2012, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-cops-ever-pull-over-buses/638027/15 "2012-10-17T19:46:25Z")
I would imagine that a policeman would be **more** likely to pull over a bus that was performing some sort of moving violation (such as speeding), on the basis that the bus driver was endangering a lot of passengers in addition to himself and the other drivers on the road. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2012, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-cops-ever-pull-over-buses/638027/16 "2012-10-17T20:13:35Z")
Actually happened to a NJ Transit bus I was on once. The cops were looking for a “person of interest” that had hopped a bus at a crime scene. ---
**Author:** ![Minnie\_Luna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4bbf92/32.png) [@Minnie\_Luna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Minnie_Luna)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2012, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-cops-ever-pull-over-buses/638027/17 "2012-10-17T20:31:36Z")
Not in the US, but the tour bus we were on in China got pulled over and the driver ticketed for going on a highway where buses were not allowed. ---
**Author:** ![Alley\_Dweller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alley_dweller/32/430_2.png) [@Alley\_Dweller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alley_Dweller)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2012, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-cops-ever-pull-over-buses/638027/18 "2012-10-17T20:35:35Z")
[Local police](http://www.nytimes.com/books/first/c/cole-justice.html) and [immigration (ICE) officers](http://www.standard.net/stories/2011/08/18/undocumented-immigrants-face-checks-amtrak-greyhound)routinely stop Greyhound buses looking for illegal immigrants and drugs. [Here is a first-hand report](http://raidreport.blogspot.com/2011/05/ice-agents-raid-my-greyhound-bus.html) from someone whose bus was stopped, passengers were ordered off the bus, their IDs checked for legal status, and drug dogs sniffed both the passengers and their belongings. Note that these are buses that have not crossed an international border. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2012, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-cops-ever-pull-over-buses/638027/19 "2012-10-17T20:47:01Z")
Around 1962 I was on a Greyhound from NY to Philly. In those days the Jersey Turnpike was only three lanes in each direction (between Exits 4 and 16, IIRC) and the left lane was posted “No trucks or buses in left lane” or words to that effect. Traffic was heavy and the bus driver took a chance and went into that lane. Sure enough, got pulled over and given a ticket. ---
**Author:** ![lawbuff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/13edae/32.png) [@lawbuff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lawbuff)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2012, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-cops-ever-pull-over-buses/638027/20 "2012-10-17T20:49:36Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > Actually happened to a NJ Transit bus I was on once. The cops were looking for a “person of interest” that had hopped a bus at a crime scene. Since it is settled law stopping a motor vehicle is a seizure, it must be reasonable then. Your facts seems to indicate the police had justification to conduct an investigatory/Terry stop. There can be a person of interest without justification to seize, then there can be a person of interest WITH justification to seize. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-cops-ever-pull-over-buses/638027.md?page=2)