Law on School Bus Lights to Get Stricter

Quiz: When a school bus stops for passengers, should a motorist: a) Pass the bus cautiously? b) Stop if the bus driver signals that children are crossing the road? or c) Stop almost every time?

In California, the answer changes Jan. 1, thanks to the persistent lobbying of an Orange County man whose 7-year-old son was struck and killed by a truck three years ago, when state law said a) or b).

But school and law enforcement officials fear that few people will know the correct response, c), when a new law requires bus drivers to turn on flashing red lights every time children get on or off the vehicle.

“A lot of people are not aware,” said Al Amato, assistant branch manager for bus operator Laidlaw Transit in Saddleback Valley Unified School District. He said motorists could face “serious repercussions as far as tickets” or, worse, “a lot of people are going to be rear-ended because no one knows the law.”

School bus drivers use flashing red lights--two each at the top front and top rear of the typical bus--to bring traffic to a stop on both sides of the road. The expiring law called for those lights to be activated--and for motorists to stop--only when the bus drivers knew children were crossing the road.

In cases where roadways present unique hazards if all traffic is stopped, schools will be allowed exceptions to the new rule after consulting with the California Highway Patrol. But officials say motorists should be prepared to stop frequently when traveling near loaded school buses.

Gov. Pete Wilson signed the Thomas Edward Lanni School Bus Safety Act into law in October. Sponsored by Assemblyman Bill Morrow (R-Oceanside), the law was named for the 7-year-old from Laguna Niguel who in 1994 got off at a stop and, unknown to the bus driver, made a tragic run into traffic.

California was playing catch-up when it enacted the law. Most states have required school buses to flash red lights at every stop, said Phil Frame, a spokesman for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

The new law will cause significant changes to the traffic patterns on many city streets during the morning commute, 7 to 9 a.m., and the after-school hours, 1:30 to 4 p.m.

Violators will be subject to steep fines. School officials say first-time offenders could be penalized $250 or more.

“Drivers should be forewarned,” said D.O. Helmick, commissioner of the CHP, which has jurisdiction over school bus accidents. “Motorists will be required to stop much more frequently.”

In Garden Grove Unified School District, where a 95-bus fleet carries 7,000 students a day, officials said the new law could cause some chaos on the streets. No one in Garden Grove, including longtime school bus driver Ellen Hines, can recall the last time an area student was killed in a school bus accident.

As she drove students home from Stanford Elementary School on a recent day, Hines, a driver and driving trainer with 26 years behind the wheel, complained that motorists generally fail to give school buses a break.

She said motorists get especially antsy when bus drivers wait, rather than make risky right turns on a red light, or when they strictly obey the 25-mph speed limit in residential zones.

“Everybody is in such a hurry,” she said. “It’s the California way.”

Starting in January, when she will be required to use her flashing red lights at every stop, Hines foresees some motorists heeding the signals and others ignoring them.

“There’s going to be quite a few little fender-benders,” she said. “I hope I’m wrong. I hope it works. I hope everybody stops.”