A tour bus driver may be charged under Arizona’s “Stupid Motorist Law” after he and 33 passengers were caught in a flooded wash Sunday. The group was headed from the Grand Canyon to Las Vegas when the driver entered the wash. Flood waters then swept the bus hundreds of yards downstream. The bus flipped on its side, but all passengers and the driver escaped unharmed.
A Mohave County sheriff's spokeswoman said authorities are determining whether the 1995 law fits this situation. It requires that drivers pay for emergency response when they cross flooded areas, but it is questionable whether the "Stupid Motorist Law" would apply because the area was not barricaded, and another section requires that a person be convicted of reckless driving before having to pay fines of up to $2,000.