Governor signs bill with big fines for ignoring school bus stop signs

As of July 1, the fines for Idaho drivers who ignore school bus stop signs and flashing lights will double for the first offense and go up from there.
 The increased penalties were contained in legislation that Gov. Brad Little recently signed into law. The fine for a first-time offense will increase from $100 to $200. The fine increases to $400 for a second offense and a third offense within five years will cost the driver $600, along with adding points to a driver’s license.
 The intent of Senate Bill 1131 is to raise public awareness regarding a statewide increase in bus stop arm violations and the desire to promote and improve the safety of students loading and disembarking buses along Idaho roadways.
 A portion of the money collected in fines will go into a fund that will help school districts buy and install cameras to help identify and prosecute drivers who fail to stop when children are getting on or off buses. The money will be put into a camera fund administered by the state.
 Weiser School District Superintendent Wil Overgaard said violations of school bus safety laws are not unique to Weiser and Washington County. The reason the Legislature took action to increase the fines is the continued reports of violations across the state.
 “We would much rather have people simply obey and honor the traffic laws and flashing bus lights and stop arm extensions rather than having to prosecute or fine violators,” he said on Thursday. “We just want to be able to transport kids to and from school safely.”
 Most of the school district’s buses have had outside cameras retrofitted in an effort to help bus drivers identify violators. Still, it’s not an easy task to collect information on a violation because the driver is trying to drive safely and keep their eyes on the kids as well as traffic.  
 “It puts them in a precarious situation,” Overgaard said.
 In the event that a bus driver sees a motorist fail to stop when the stop arm is out and the lights are flashing, the driver also can call law enforcement dispatch directly if they can pull over safely, or they can radio the district’s transportation supervisor and have that person call dispatch.
 “All of the district’s new and future bus purchases will have cameras inside and outside the bus included as standard equipment,” he said.
 Weiser Police Chief Carl Smith said officers patrol the school zones in town every morning and afternoon. The number of complaints about drivers not obeying the extended bus stop arm law has declined with the increased patrolling.
 He said it was a good idea that the state will set some of the fines aside to buy cameras for school buses. That can help with positive identification of the driver in the event of a bus stop arm violation, which is needed for prosecution.
 Last December, the Idaho Department of Education launched a campaign to raise awareness about school bus safety and traffic laws.
 The director of student transportation for the State Department of Education surveyed all school districts in the state in 2017 about drivers ignoring school bus stop arms and flashing red lights. A total of 48 districts responded with more than 600 violations reported.
 State education officials said the awareness campaign was a good time to remind drivers of what the traffic laws are governing extended bus stop arms and flashing red lights.
  On a road of three lanes or less (which could include a turning lane), vehicles in both directions must stop when a school bus displays its stop arm. On a road greater than three lanes, only those vehicles going in the same direction as the bus must stop.