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New Montana law raises penalties for passing school buses illegally
A six-foot arm holds a stop sign attached to a Havre Public Schools bus, warns drivers not to pass while the bus is loading or unloading passengers.
A six-foot arm extends a stop sign from a Havre Public Schools bus, to warn drivers not to pass while the bus is loading or unloading passengers. The state Legislature passed a law requiring the longer arms be installed on school buses and increased the penalties for someone convicted of passing a school bus while it is loading or unloading passengers and has the sign extended and red lights flashing.
Havre Public Schools is outfitting its buses with extended stop arms that stick out 6 feet into the oncoming lane when activated, a change mandated by Montana House Bill 267 which requires these new arms and increases the penalties for driving past buses while the arm is extended.
Havre Public Schools Transportation Department Service Attendant and Trainer Allen "Woody" Woodwick said five buses have been retrofitted so far, but the requirement for extended stop arms doesn't take effect until July so they have time to outfit the rest of the fleet during the summer.
The incresed penalties in HB267 however, took effect in October of last year and stipulate that hitting these extended arms, or driving past the bus while its red lights are flashing, is now considered the legal equivalent of careless driving and will result in having 10 points added to the perpetrator's driving record on the first offense and 20 on the second.
Fines for this infraction have also been increased, but Woodwick said Montana Highway Patrol has told him that the fine will depend on the circumstances observed by the officer issuing the ticket, so there is some leeway. However, he said, it will be considered an accident so the driver is required to stay on scene until law enforcement arrives.
He said he's not sure if any particular event lead to HB 267 getting the support it did, but he can say with certainty that bus drivers are getting very tired of people driving past when the red lights are on, which he said is constant and very dangerous.
"It's consistently, daily that people run our red lights," he said.
Woodwick expressed some annoyance that the bus arms are being mandated by the state without providing any funding for them, but he said he can't complain too much as this will probably keep more people from driving past the buses and endangering students.
"I think its a good idea," he said.
He said stopping for the bus is not a huge imposition, taking a few seconds out of a person's day to ensure the safety of a child.
Woodwick said his department tries to plan stops so as few students as possible need to cross the street, but because routes shift and buses are used for multiple purposes it's impractical not to outfit the whole fleet with the extended arms, which he said are about $1,100 each and are a significant investment.
He said less than half the fleet has the arms installed right now, and none have been hit yet, but there was one close call.
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