Look how much publicity this is getting now. I'll definitely think twice about passing a school bus now, and I'm sure many others will as well. I think the post was justified for sure.
That's a very good point.
How about just using common sense? That is the problem with all religions. Common sense seems to go out the window.
"Common Sense", IMHO, requires context. If I saw a friend do that (especially if couldn't believe s/he would do something like that) I'd probably approach them. If it was a stranger, (or a repeat offender), I'd probably be more incensed.
If I also knew that the same bus driver sat their for 20 minutes every morning with his stop sign open waiting for the kids of a specific family, I'd take a different approach.
Exactly. How about using common sense? What would be the outcome of "reporting" this violator? At most a huge hassle. A conviction or fine? I highly doubt it!
In this case, the poster only took a picture of the car, AFTER they had witnessed them pass the bus. There's no video, and no picture of the stop sign extended for context. So I imagine that the driver of the car will get a warning. Although a quick google search suggests that this person is subject to a minimum fine of $250 and 5 points on their license here in NY.
Reporting is just fulfilling a sense of self righteousness, no real effective outcome is likely. If you see someone doing this. Stop them and confront them then and there, if you didn't or can't do that, just move on and make sure you and your family always do the right thing.
So for context, the full frustration is that the poster lives on that street and has small children getting picked up by the bus. The post also indicated that this is a regular occurrence, and I imagine the post was to raise awareness to neighbors and others in the area.
There are specific Halachos of mesirah brought down in shulchan aruch and the later poskim that apply to one who has the potential to cause harm to others, delineating when it is appropriate to warn someone before hand, when one is allowed or even required to immediately be moser him, and when one is absolutely not allowed and loses his share in olam haba for doing so. There are many factors that come into play such as the levels and immediacy of the danger that he is putting others in among many other factors. Ask a competent Rav as to how to proceed.
I wasn't necessarily asking this in a 'halachic' context. The group where this is posted is a neighborhood group where most of the people (both in the group and the neighborhood) aren't Jewish, and far fewer are frum.
But this raises another interesting point/question. My shul always has problems with traffic. Many people need to cross a relatively busy street to come to shul. There is a crosswalk with a yield sign, but no stop sign. While B"H no one has been hit by a car, we have had several near misses. After 1 Yom tov a few years ago, we complained to the police, and provided them with footage from our security cameras of people violating the crosswalk. They now come every other week to do traffic stops along this route.
Does that make all of us mosers? Or because we're a) in a sakana and b) only reporting frei yidden and goyim who're driving on shabbos are we okay?