AB 281

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.