OHIO — The Ohio School Bus Safety Act is currently up for consideration by the Ohio Senate.
If approved, drivers could face an increased penalty for failing to comply with the law regarding bus stop procedures.
Currently, drivers can face fines of up to $500 and potentially have their licenses suspended for up to a year. Under this new proposal, the maximum fine would increase to $1,000. Any repeat offenders within five years of the first offense would be looking at a fine between $500 and $2,000.
It also gives judges leeway when it comes to points on a driver's license and possible suspensions. First-time offenders would also need to take a school bus safety course to lower their fine and get the points taken off their license.
The bill would also use $10 million in Ohio Lottery money to improve technology in buses across the state. Most notably, adding cameras that will show vehicle make, model, and colors, and provide irrefutable evidence for law enforcement when any driver illegally passes a stopped bus.
"We have thousands of illegal passages that are happening all the time," State Representative Bernie Willis said. "We have been lucky that we have not had children that have been injured by that, but we don't want that to continue to happen. We need to help curb that behavior in some way."
Ohio's current law states that if you see yellow lights, that means a bus is planning to come to a stop. Red lights and stop arms mean the bus is stopping.
When a bus is stopped, drivers must stop in both directions on a two-lane road. On a road with fewer than four lanes, all traffic approaching a stopped school bus from either direction must completely stop at least 10 feet from the front or rear of the bus. They must remain stopped until the bus begins to move or the bus driver signals drivers to proceed.
If the Ohio Senate decides to approve the School Bus Safety Act, it must be signed by Governor Mike DeWine before becoming law.
