DFLers push to eliminate fine for passing a school bus

The ‘stop-arm’ law

Last September, as kids across Minnesota prepared to start or return to school, Kare 11 ran an article titled “Back-to-school reminder: Minnesota’s stop-arm law means stopping for buses.”

“We’re right around 280 vehicles on the road compared to about 120 during the summer, so big difference there,” [St. Paul Public Schools] Director of Transportation Ben Harri said. “Just stay off your phone … be careful, keep your speed down.”

It’s nothing new, but Minnesota’s school bus stop-arm law requires a shift in mindset for motorists. It requires both awareness and patience to keep students safe, and themselves out of trouble. 

Stop-arms

Here’s what the law requires. 

*When a school bus is stopped on a street or highway (or other signed locations) and displays an extended stop-signal arm and flashing red lights, the driver of a vehicle approaching the bus shall stop the vehicle at least 20 feet away from the bus. 

*The vehicle’s driver should not move until the school bus stop-arm is retracted and the red lights are no longer flashing.

* No driver may pass or attempt to pass a school bus in a motor vehicle on the right-hand, passenger-door side of the bus when the school bus is displaying the prewarning flashing amber signals

* No passing or attempting to pass a school bus in a motor vehicle when a school child is outside of the bus and on the street/highway or adjacent sidewalk.

A misdemeanor citation for a stop-arm violation will run at least $500, according to Minnesota law. Those who attempt to pass a school bus could be found guilty of a gross misdemeanor, and subjected to more serious penalties. [Emphasis added]

Going easier on violators?

Bills in both the Minnesota House (HF 2736) and Senate (SF 2613) would amend that “stop-arm” law. Sponsored by Rep. Cedrick Frazier (DFL) in the House and Sen. Ron Latz (DFL) in the Senate, these bills would eliminate the $500 fine for passing a stopped school bus.

It is hard to fathom what the thought processes behind these bills are: Are Minnesota’s kids really too safe? Do they really need fewer protections?

Last year, Kare 11 wrote:

In recent years, KARE 11 has documented incidents where motorists have put the lives of school children in danger with their bad decision-making. Local law enforcement departments regularly hold crackdowns on stop-arm violators to hold them accountable, and many districts have installed cameras on some or all of their school buses to catch those violators in the act. 

When the fine was increased from $300 to $500 in 2017, WCCO wrote:

…in the last six years, police officers across Minnesota have written nearly 9,000 tickets for stop arm violations.

…

Last winter in Otsego, three students were seriously injured at their bus stop when they were hit by the driver of a pickup truck.

…

The state patrol says a survey of 3,600 bus drivers this year shows 703 reported stop arm violations in just one day.

HF 2736, introduced on Monday, was referred to the House Transportation Finance and Policy committee. When that meets, perhaps we will discover what the justification for this bill is.