Iowa motorists are being reminded about how dangerous — and expensive — it can be to pass a stopped school bus.
Iowa State Patrol Trooper Paul Gardner says passing one of the big yellow buses puts the lives of children at risk and motorists need to know the meaning of two types of flashing lights.
“When the bus is coming up to a stop, the driver is required to activate the yellow-amber flashing lights on the top of the bus. That’s indicating that the bus is coming to a slow,” Gardner says. “When the red lights start flashing, that means the bus is stopped, the stop arm comes out, and that means that it’s either discharging or picking up students. Vehicles are not allowed to pass the school bus when the red lights are flashing.”
On a first offense, fines for passing a stopped school bus range from $250 to $675, up to 30 days in jail, and a 30-day license suspension. If it happens again, fines start at $1,875 dollars, while the driver could face up to a year in jail and a 90-day loss of their license.
Gardner says all school districts in the state need to put their buses through safety inspections twice a year.
“Troopers will accompany the Iowa Department of Education and make sure that each school bus passes these requirements, such as anything from making sure that the emergency lights are working, make sure that it’s equipped with all safety gear like fire extinguishers, first aid kits,” he says, “and all the way down to the brakes, the tires, anything to do with the chassis, just make sure that these school buses are operating safely.”
This is National School Bus Safety Week. This year’s theme is “Safe Rides, Everyday Heroes.”
