Stop for School Buses Act

II 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 786 To require the Secretary of Transportation to review laws relating to the illegal passing of school buses and to execute a public safety messaging campaign relating to illegal passing of school buses, and for other pur- poses. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MARCH 17 (legislative day, MARCH 16), 2021 Mr. YOUNG (for himself and Mr. PETERS) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation A BILL To require the Secretary of Transportation to review laws relating to the illegal passing of school buses and to execute a public safety messaging campaign relating to illegal passing of school buses, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Stop for School Buses 4 Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. ILLEGAL PASSING OF SCHOOL BUSES. 6 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:20 Apr 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S786.IS S786 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 786 IS (1) DEPARTMENT.—The term ‘‘Department’’ 1 means the Department of Transportation. 2 (2) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 3 the Secretary of Transportation. 4 (b) REVIEW OF ILLEGAL PASSING LAWS.— 5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after 6 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 7 shall— 8 (A) prepare a compilation of illegal passing 9 laws in all States, including— 10 (i) levels of enforcement and penalties 11 and enforcement issues relating to those 12 laws; and 13 (ii) the impact of those laws on illegal 14 passing of school buses in each State; 15 (B) review existing State laws that may in- 16 hibit effective school bus loading zone counter- 17 measures, including— 18 (i) laws requiring camera visibility of 19 the face of a driver for enforcement action; 20 (ii) laws that may reduce stop-arm 21 camera effectiveness; 22 (iii) laws requiring an officer to wit- 23 ness an event for enforcement actions re- 24 lating to the event; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:20 Apr 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S786.IS S786 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 786 IS (iv) lack of primary enforcement for 1 texting-and-driving offenses; 2 (C) evaluate methods used by States to re- 3 view, document, and report to law enforcement 4 school bus stop-arm violations; and 5 (D) on completion of the compilation under 6 subparagraph (A), prepare recommendations re- 7 garding best practices for effective approaches 8 to address illegal passing of school buses. 9 (2) PUBLICATION.—The Secretary shall publish 10 the compilation and recommendations prepared 11 under subparagraphs (A) and (D) of paragraph (1) 12 on the website of the Department. 13 (c) PUBLIC SAFETY MESSAGING CAMPAIGN.— 14 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 15 the date on which the Secretary publishes the com- 16 pilation and recommendations under subsection 17 (b)(2), the Secretary shall establish and carry out a 18 public safety messaging campaign for distribution to 19 States, divisions of motor vehicles, schools, and other 20 public organizations to highlight the dangers of the 21 illegal passing of school buses, including providing to 22 students and the public information relating to safe 23 loading and unloading of school buses. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:20 Apr 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S786.IS S786 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 786 IS (2) CONSULTATION.—In developing materials 1 for the campaign under paragraph (1), the Secretary 2 shall consult with— 3 (A) public and private school bus industry 4 representatives; and 5 (B) States. 6 (3) UPDATES.—The Secretary shall periodically 7 update materials for the campaign under paragraph 8 (1). 9 (d) REVIEW OF TECHNOLOGIES.— 10 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after 11 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 12 shall review and evaluate the effectiveness of various 13 technologies to enhance school bus safety, includ- 14 ing— 15 (A) cameras; 16 (B) audible warning systems; 17 (C) enhanced lighting; and 18 (D) other technological solutions. 19 (2) CONTENT.—The review and evaluation 20 under paragraph (1)— 21 (A) shall include an evaluation of, as appli- 22 cable— 23 (i) the costs of new equipment; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:20 Apr 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S786.IS S786 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 786 IS (ii) potential impacts on overall school 1 bus ridership; 2 (iii) advanced technologies sur- 3 rounding loading zone safety; 4 (iv) motion-activated detection sys- 5 tems that are capable of— 6 (I) detecting pedestrians, 7 bicyclists, and other road users lo- 8 cated near the exterior of a school 9 bus; and 10 (II) alerting the operator of a 11 school bus of the road users described 12 in subclause (I); and 13 (v) school bus lighting systems, to en- 14 sure clear communication to surrounding 15 drivers regarding appropriate actions; and 16 (B) may include other technological solu- 17 tions that enhance school bus safety. 18 (3) CONSULTATION.—In conducting the review 19 under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall consult 20 with— 21 (A) manufacturers of school buses or simi- 22 lar vehicles; 23 (B) manufacturers of various technologies; 24 and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:20 Apr 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S786.IS S786 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 786 IS (C) school bus industry representatives. 1 (4) PUBLICATION.—The Secretary shall publish 2 the findings of the review under paragraph (1) on 3 the website of the Department. 4 (e) REVIEW OF DRIVER EDUCATION MATERIALS.— 5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after 6 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 7 shall— 8 (A) review driver education materials 9 across all States to determine whether and the 10 method by which illegal passing of school buses 11 is addressed in— 12 (i) driver education manuals; 13 (ii) noncommercial driver’s license 14 testing; 15 (iii) road tests; and 16 (iv) any other driver education mate- 17 rials; and 18 (B) provide to Congress recommendations 19 regarding the means by which States can im- 20 prove education regarding illegal passing of 21 school buses, particularly with respect to new 22 drivers. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:20 Apr 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S786.IS S786 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 786 IS (2) CONSULTATION.—In conducting the review 1 under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall consult 2 with— 3 (A) school bus industry representatives; 4 (B) States; 5 (C) motor vehicle administrators; and 6 (D) other appropriate motor vehicle ex- 7 perts. 8 (3) PUBLICATION.—The Secretary shall publish 9 the findings of the review under paragraph (1) on 10 the website of the Department. 11 (f) REVIEW OF OTHER SAFETY ISSUES.— 12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after 13 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 14 shall— 15 (A) conduct research relating to the con- 16 nections between illegal passing of school buses 17 and other safety issues, including— 18 (i) distracted driving; 19 (ii) morning darkness; 20 (iii) poor visibility; 21 (iv) illumination and reach of vehicle 22 headlights; 23 (v) speed limits; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:20 Apr 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S786.IS S786 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 786 IS (vi) school bus stop locations in rural 1 areas; and 2 (B) prepare a report describing the find- 3 ings of the research conducted under subpara- 4 graph (A). 5 (2) PUBLICATION.—The Secretary shall publish 6 the report prepared under paragraph (1)(B) on the 7 website of the Department. 8 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:20 Apr 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S786.IS S786 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS