A bill that mandates drivers to receive warnings instead of citations for driving through a school bus stop sign passed the House. 

School bus stop and school zone vehicle enforcement have been major topics of discussion during the 2023 and 2024 legislative sessions, particularly in the Environment and Transportation and Judicial Proceedings Committees. Safety is the primary concern in these areas where young school children and motor vehicles are interacting multiple times a day, every day. In the 2024 session specifically, there are a handful of bills looking to resolve some of the confusion around when vehicles need to stop for a school bus if the school bus stop is on a highway.

The effort to move bus stops off highways
School bus stops on highways are not ideal, and therefore, demand a higher level of safety precautions. One sets of bills, HB 540/SB 1163, outlined a strategy to move school bus stops off highways completely. Stops that cannot be moved would be required to have a traffic safety guard or an additional stationary red light placed on the opposite side of the road. These bills did not make it out of their originating chambers, leaving some school bus stops on highways, as they are now.

The effort to…lessen penalties for violating school bus safety measures?
Another set of bills, HB 356/SB 406, requires law enforcement agencies to issue a warning, rather than a citation, for motor vehicles speeding past stopped school buses on highways. Currently, these citations are used by law enforcement to combat school bus stop violations when drivers either do not know or simply do not abide by the law. The bill seems to be based on the idea that warning drivers of the dangers of these violations after the fact can be used as an educational tool for drivers. However, stripping away citations as a deterrent seems counterproductive and heightens concerns around the safety of school children at bus stops.

Opponents to HB 356/SB 406, including MACo, have strongly advocated that removing the safeguard of citations would further imperil school children at bus stops, particularly since this is a violation that happens with great frequency. This citation has proven to be a powerful mechanism to ensure that drivers act with more care when in proximity to the qualifying school bus stops, as evidenced by low recidivism rates. The bill would institute a warning for first-time offenders, which would seem to leave open a window for the offense to happen again and is counter to why the violation carries such a substantial penalty. The State believes this to be such a dangerous violation, that it currently carries a $250 fine if caught by a camera and $500 if caught by an officer. The House passed HB 356 on 3/18/24, so it will now move to the Senate for consideration.

MACo urges legislators to treat such a potentially consequential change with caution, and believes that the General Assembly would do well to educate residents on the importance of adhering to these public safety measures, rather than making these school bus stops less safe. Read MACo’s testimony on HB 356.