Warning lights on school buses

What it does

Summary by the Legislative Reference Bureau, the Legislature's nonpartisan drafting office. It's their wording, not ours.

Under current law, a school bus must be equipped with a 360-degree flashing white strobe light and flashing red warning lights. The operator of a school bus must activate the flashing red warning lights at least 100 feet before stopping to load or unload pupils and extinguish the lights only when loading or unloading is completed and persons who must cross the highway are safely across. Also under current law, the driver of a vehicle approaching a school bus that is stopped on a highway and that is displaying flashing red warning lights must stop the vehicle not less than 20 feet from the bus and remain stopped until the bus resumes motion or the bus driver extinguishes the lights. A person who violates this requirement may be required to forfeit not less than $30 nor more than $300.

Under this bill, a school bus must be equipped with a 360-degree flashing white strobe light and either flashing red warning lights or flashing red and amber warning lights. Also under the bill, when stopping to load or unload pupils, the operator of a school bus equipped with only flashing red warning lights must follow the signal activation and extinguishing rules currently provided. The operator of a school bus equipped with flashing red and amber warning lights, however, must: 1) activate the amber lights at least 300 feet before stopping in a 45 mile per hour or greater speed zone or at least 100 feet before stopping in a less than 45 mile per hour speed zone; 2) at the point of loading or unloading, bring the bus to a stop, extinguish the amber lights, and activate the red lights; and 3) after loading or unloading is completed and persons who must cross the highway are safely across, extinguish the red lights.

Who's behind it

11 representatives are its authors⁠. 7 are Republicans and 4 are Democrats.

8 more lawmakers signed on in support⁠.