The South Carolina House has approved a bill that increases the penalties for passing a stopped school bus and requires all buses to have longer stop sign arms to extend across a lane of traffic.
The bill approved on a 101-8 vote Wednesday also gives the state education superintendent the power to move a bus stop if she thinks it is in a dangerous location.
The bill now heads to the Senate.
The current minimum fine for passing a stopped school bus is $500. The bill increases the minimum fine to $1,000 for a first offense and $2,500 for later offenses.
Supporters of the bill said the extra fines can pay for extended stop sign arms. But with only about 50 people a year convicted of passing a stopped school bus, the fines won’t come close to covering the more than $10 million needed to buy the new equipment for all buses.
Topics Education K-12 South Carolina
Was this article valuable?
Here are more articles you may enjoy.
Cancer Victims Lose Bid to Block Proposed J&J Talc Bankruptcy 
Three Charged With Helping Agents Cheat on Florida Insurance License Exams 
‘Extremely Dangerous’ Hurricane Beryl Takes Aim at Caribbean 
State Farm Seeking Large Rate Increases in Wildfire-Prone California 
