On Thursday, a 7-year-old boy hit by a pickup truck while walking to his school bus Thursday morning on St. Paul’s West Side is in critical condition at a hospital. The boy was in the crosswalk, and his school bus had stopped with its lights flashing and stop arm out when the driver struck the boy.

Senator Rich Draheim (R-Madison Lake) and Senator Sandy Pappas (D-St. Paul) issued the following joint statement:

“Our thoughts and prayers go out to this boy, his family, and his classmates during this trying time.  Situations like this shouldn’t happen. Quite simply, there is no excuse to pass a school bus illegally. The safety of our children around school buses remains the utmost importance, and the Senate is proud of the action we’re taking to protect them. With reforms like the school bus safety legislation that was heard earlier this week, Minnesota can avoid situations like this ensure that our children are safe when traveling to and from school.”

On Tuesday this week, 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. The committee heard a bipartisan bill introduced by Senator Draheim that would 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.