Yesterday, the Minnesota Senate Transportation Finance and Policy Committee held a hearing regarding school bus safety and the dangers of not stopping for school bus stop signs. Senator Rich Draheim (R-Madison Lake) presented a bipartisan bill to increase education and awareness of the risks of cars passing school buses. The legislation would create a public relations campaign to convey the importance of stopping once a school bus has its stop sign extended and help highlight the shocking amount of infractions occurring in our state.

Each year, the Department of Public Safety conducts a one-day survey where they request all school bus drivers report how many stop-arm violations they witness on their routes for the day. Over the past five years, DPS has tallied an average of more than 600 violations on that single day, and that’s with fewer than 30 percent of drivers reporting. Taken over 170 school days, there could be more than 100,000 stop-arm violations occurring in Minnesota roadways each school year.

Over the past three years, between 1,000 and 1,100 citations were issued annually to drivers who illegally passed a stopped school bus. Conviction numbers are much lower, and over the past decade, only half of the offenders have received a conviction.

“It is unacceptable that we have to even consider that this level of irresponsibility and inattentiveness occurs around children and school buses,” said Mary Kiffmeyer (R-Big Lake). “We won’t let this continue. I am proud of my colleagues for their awareness of this issue and I hope Minnesotans will be reminded of the importance of abiding by stop arm laws. Priceless life is at stake.”

Minnesota statute currently classifies stop-arm violations as misdemeanors that carry a fine not less than $500; illegally passing on the passenger side or passing while the arm is out and a child is in the street or on the adjacent sidewalk makes that violation a gross misdemeanor.