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Panel approves bill tightening rules and penalties for passing stopped school buses
Summary
Senate Bill 65, which increases stopping distance and penalties for passing school buses — including higher point assessments and license suspensions for failing to stop for buses transporting disabled passengers — passed the committee with no amendments.
The House Judiciary Committee reported Senate Bill 65, a measure amending Title 75 to strengthen rules and penalties for passing stopped school buses and to require PennDOT to include educational material on automated enforcement and stopping for school buses in renewal notices.
Committee counsel described the bill’s changes: adding point assessments to driving records for failure to proceed with caution when amber lights flash; a tiered penalty system with a two-point assessment for failure to proceed with caution and a five-point assessment and 60-day suspension for failure to stop for a school bus transporting disabled persons; and extending the required stopping distance from 10 feet to 15 feet when a bus’s red lights are flashing and the stop arm is activated. Counsel also said PennDOT would be required to include educational information about automated enforcement and failure-to-stop rules in renewal notices.
Representative Kincaid asked how drivers would know if a bus was transporting disabled persons; committee counsel responded that it is “a different type of bus.” There was no extended debate on operational identification and no amendments offered. The chair asked for any negative votes; none were recorded and the bill was reported as committed.
The bill’s educational provisions take effect in 60 days, counsel said, and the remainder of the law takes effect in one year.
Speakers on the record included committee counsel and Representative Kincaid.
