Tuesday, July 26, 2011

New Bus Camera Law Takes Effect in WA

A new law that took effect last Friday authorizes the use of automated school-bus safety cameras.

This law adds school-bus camera violations to the list of parking infractions that can hold up renewal of a vehicle registration.

The reason for adding this type of violation is to increase public awareness of our responsibility to help keep children safe while they are exiting, entering or walking near school buses. More than 24 million children ride school buses every day in the U.S. and each year about 27 children are fatally injured while near a bus.

To reduce risk near school buses, safety cameras on school buses will shoot photos of a vehicle and its license plate while an infraction is occurring. If a vehicle owner receives two or more parking violations for the same vehicle, the vehicle record is flagged, and the registration cannot be renewed.

Drivers must stop for a school bus that is stopped with its red lights flashing – no matter which side of the road it’s on.

Drivers must yield to any bus that has signaled and is pulling back onto the roadway.

Drivers are not required to stop for a school bus with red lights flashing when the stopped school bus is traveling in the opposite direction and the roadway has three or more marked traffic lanes, is separated by a median, or is separated by a physical barrier