A new law is aimed at getting North Carolina drivers to think twice before passing a stopped school bus. Gov. Roy Cooper signed Senate Bill 55 into law on Tuesday. The measure expands local enforcement of bus stop safety.
Drivers already have to stop on both sides of the road when a school bus is stopped. Some school districts have installed cameras on their buses to help capture incidents of illegal passing.
Under the new measure, counties can now take those video images a step further. Kevin Harrison with the State Department of Instruction says even the owner of the vehicle could face fines.
“This law provides another tool to counties who chose to enact it. It allows them to access a civil penalty to the owner of the vehicle for illegally passing a stopped school bus when you can't positively identify who was driving the vehicle.”
The penalty can be steep. It starts at $400 dollars for a first offense, $750 for the second offense, and $1,000 for each violation after that.
A recent study from the NCDPI says there are more than 3,000 illegal passings each day during the school year.
Harrison says 14 students have died in North Carolina since the late 90s because drivers didn't stop. That number includes the death of a 16-year-old boy from Onslow County who was killed in March.
The NCDPI says its also plans to work with schools and students during the school year to remind them of bus stop safety.
“Kids also need to look both ways when they are getting on or off a bus,” says Harrison. “We need to drill that message with students at home, at school and with our bus drivers. It's something we are looking at in several ways.”
He says the state is also piloting studies that add more lighting and extended stop arms to buses.
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