Students across the commonwealth of Kentucky will return to classes soon.
When they do, there’s a new law that aims to improve traffic safety for children getting on and off school buses.
Effective July 15, motorists are required to stop for school and church buses displaying stop arm signs. This law stems from passage of House Bill 7.
The legislation states that, “If any school or church bus used in transportation is stopped upon a highway for the purposes of receiving or discharging passengers, with the stop arm and signal lights activated, the operator of a vehicle approaching from any direction shall bring the vehicle to a stop and shall not proceed until the bus has completed receiving or discharging passengers and has been put into motion. Under the new law, motorists must stop halt for a stopped school bus on
- Two-lane roads
- Three-lane roads
- Roads with a center turn lane
- Highways with four or more lanes unless they are separated by a raised physical barrier or an unpaved median.
A center turn lane does not count as a barrier, so drivers traveling in the opposite direction must still stop.
House Bill 7 also allows school districts to install exterior cameras on buses to record drivers who illegally pass stopped buses. Violating the law could include a $300 fine for a first offense and a $500 for each subsequent offense within a three-year period.
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