Stop for School Buses Act of 2019

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1254 To require the Secretary of Transportation to review and report on certain laws, safety measures, and technologies relating to the illegal passing of school buses, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES APRIL 30, 2019 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 and report on certain laws, safety measures, and technologies relating to the 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 of 2019’’. 5 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 6 In this Act: 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:11 May 03, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1254.IS S1254 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •S 1254 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 SEC. 3. REVIEW OF LAWS, SAFETY MEASURES, AND TECH- 5 NOLOGIES. 6 (a) REVIEW OF ILLEGAL PASSING LAWS.— 7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after 8 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 9 shall prepare a report that— 10 (A) identifies and describes all illegal pass- 11 ing laws in each State relating to school buses, 12 including— 13 (i) the level of enforcement of those 14 laws; 15 (ii) the penalties associated with those 16 laws; 17 (iii) any issues relating to the enforce- 18 ment of those laws; and 19 (iv) the effectiveness of those laws; 20 (B) reviews existing State laws that may 21 inhibit the effectiveness of safety counter- 22 measures in school bus loading zones, such as— 23 (i) laws that require the face of a 24 driver to be visible in an image captured 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:11 May 03, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1254.IS S1254 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •S 1254 IS by a camera if enforcement action is to be 1 taken based on that image; 2 (ii) laws that may reduce stop-arm 3 camera effectiveness; 4 (iii) the need for a law enforcement 5 officer to witness an event for enforcement 6 action to be taken; and 7 (iv) the lack of primary enforcement 8 for texting and driving; 9 (C) evaluates the methods used by each 10 State to review, document, and report to law 11 enforcement school bus stop-arm violations; and 12 (D) recommends best practices relating to 13 the most effective approaches to address the il- 14 legal passing of school buses. 15 (2) PUBLICATION.—The report under para- 16 graph (1) shall be made publicly available on the 17 website of the Department. 18 (b) PUBLIC SAFETY MESSAGING CAMPAIGN.— 19 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 20 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 21 shall establish and implement a public safety mes- 22 saging campaign that uses public safety media mes- 23 sages, posters, digital media messages, and other 24 media messages distributed to States, State depart- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:11 May 03, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1254.IS S1254 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •S 1254 IS ments of motor vehicles, schools, and other public 1 outlets— 2 (A) to highlight the importance of address- 3 ing the illegal passing of school buses; and 4 (B) to educate students and the public on 5 the safe loading and unloading of schools buses. 6 (2) CONSULTATION.—In carrying out para- 7 graph (1), the Secretary shall consult with— 8 (A) representatives of the school bus indus- 9 try from the public and private sectors; and 10 (B) States. 11 (3) UPDATES.—The Secretary shall periodically 12 update the materials used in the campaign under 13 paragraph (1). 14 (c) REVIEW OF TECHNOLOGIES.— 15 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after 16 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 17 shall review and evaluate the effectiveness of various 18 technologies for enhancing school bus safety, includ- 19 ing technologies such as— 20 (A) cameras; 21 (B) audible warning systems; and 22 (C) enhanced lighting. 23 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—The review under para- 24 graph (1)— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:11 May 03, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1254.IS S1254 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •S 1254 IS (A) shall include— 1 (i) an evaluation of— 2 (I) the costs of acquiring and op- 3 erating new equipment; and 4 (II) the potential impact of that 5 equipment on overall school bus rider- 6 ship; 7 (ii) an evaluation of the impact of ad- 8 vanced technologies on school bus loading 9 zone safety; and 10 (iii) an evaluation of the effectiveness 11 of school bus lighting systems at clearly 12 communicating to surrounding drivers the 13 appropriate actions those drivers should 14 take; and 15 (B) may include— 16 (i) an evaluation of any technological 17 solutions that may enhance school bus 18 safety outside of the school bus loading 19 zone; and 20 (ii) a pilot program to test any tech- 21 nologies in school bus service. 22 (3) CONSULTATION.—In carrying out the re- 23 view under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall con- 24 sult with— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:11 May 03, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1254.IS S1254 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •S 1254 IS (A) manufacturers of school buses; 1 (B) manufacturers of various technologies 2 that may enhance school bus safety; and 3 (C) school bus industry representatives. 4 (4) PUBLICATION.—The Secretary shall make 5 the findings of the review under paragraph (1) pub- 6 licly available on the website of the Department. 7 (d) REVIEW OF DRIVER EDUCATION MATERIALS.— 8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after 9 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 10 shall— 11 (A) review driver education materials in all 12 States to determine whether and how illegal 13 passing of school buses is addressed in those 14 driver education materials, including— 15 (i) manuals; 16 (ii) testing for noncommercial driver’s 17 licenses; and 18 (iii) road tests; and 19 (B) make recommendations on how States 20 can improve education about the illegal passing 21 of school buses, particularly for new drivers. 22 (2) CONSULTATION.—In carrying out para- 23 graph (1), the Secretary shall consult with— 24 (A) school bus industry representatives; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:11 May 03, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1254.IS S1254 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •S 1254 IS (B) States; 1 (C) the chief executive officer of the de- 2 partment of transportation of each State; and 3 (D) other appropriate motor vehicle ex- 4 perts. 5 (3) PUBLICATION.—The Secretary shall make 6 the findings of the review under paragraph (1) pub- 7 licly available on the website of the Department. 8 (e) REVIEW OF OTHER SAFETY ISSUES.— 9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after 10 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 11 shall research and prepare a report on the connec- 12 tions between the illegal passing of school buses and 13 other safety issues, including issues such as— 14 (A) distracted driving; 15 (B) morning darkness; 16 (C) illumination and reach of vehicle head- 17 lights; 18 (D) speed limits; and 19 (E) the locations of school bus stops in 20 rural areas. 21 (2) PUBLICATION.—The Secretary shall make 22 the report under paragraph (1) publicly available on 23 the website of the Department. 24 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:11 May 03, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S1254.IS S1254 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS