MADISON, Wis. — Legislation authored by Senator Rob Hutton (R-Brookfield) to better enforce laws against illegally passing stopped school buses received a public hearing on Wednesday in the Assembly Committee on Transportation.
Assembly Bill 561/Senate Bill 508, co-authored with Rep. Dean Kaufert (R-Neenah), allows the installation of cameras on school bus stop arms and the use of that footage to enforce laws against illegally passing a stopped school bus while the safety arm and lights are activated, addressing one element of a reckless driving scourge that nationally has claimed hundreds of young lives in recent years.
The bill amends current law to allow school districts or bus companies to work with third parties to install cameras on their stop-arms and record motorists who illegally pass stopped school buses. The bill would allow this footage to be used by law enforcement agencies to send citations to motorists who illegally pass school buses when their safety lights and sign are activated.
While current law prohibits a motorist from passing a school bus when it is loading or unloading passengers, the crime of recklessly passing a stopped school bus persists anyway. The National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation Services estimates that 43.5 million illegal passes occur every school year.
This reckless behavior poses an immense risk to the safety of children. Over the decade from 2012-2021, 206 school-age children were killed in school transportation-related crashes, according to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration. Another report found 1,267 fatalities over the past 53 years—924 of whom were age 9 or younger.
“When a reckless driver endangers children, we have a responsibility to make sure they can’t just drive away from the consequences. This bill ensures law enforcement can identify people who recklessly endanger children, fine them, and deter this behavior in the future,” Hutton said.
Similar legislation has been passed in 25 states and has had marked success. Our neighbors such as Illinois and Indiana have authorized the use of cameras on school buses and have seen far fewer stop-arm violations and increased public awareness.
Moreover, a pilot program in Beloit authorized three buses to have such cameras. They were able to give citations much more frequently and saw the number of stop-arm violations drop substantially.
