I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2218 

To require the Secretary of Transportation to conduct research on and implement certain safety measures and programs to prevent illegal passing 

of school buses, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 10, 2019 

Mrs. WALORSKI (for herself and Ms. BROWNLEY of California) introduced the 

following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation 

and Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committee on Education and 

Labor, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in 

each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To require the Secretary of Transportation to conduct research on and implement certain safety measures and 

programs to prevent illegal passing of school buses, and 

for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Stop for School Buses 

5 Act of 2019’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF SAFETY PROGRAMS. 

2 (a) REVIEW OF ILLEGAL PASSING LAWS.— 

3 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after 

4 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

5 shall— 

6 (A) prepare a compilation of illegal passing 

7 laws in all States, including levels of enforce8 ment and penalties and enforcement issues with 

9 such laws and the impact of such laws on illegal 

10 passing of school buses in each State; 

11 (B) review existing State laws that may in12 hibit effective school bus loading zone counter13 measures, which may include laws requiring 

14 camera visibility of a driver’s face for enforce15 ment action, laws that may reduce stop arm 

16 camera effectiveness, the need for an officer to 

17 witness the event for enforcement, and the lack 

18 of primary enforcement for texting and driving; 

19 (C) evaluate methods used by States to re20 view, document, and report to law enforcement 

21 school bus stop arm violations; and 

22 (D) following the completion of the com23 pilation, issue recommendations on best prac24 tices on the most-effective approaches to ad25 dress illegal passing of school buses. 


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1 (2) PUBLICATION.—The compilation and rec2 ommendations shall be made publicly available on 

3 the website of the Department. 

4 (b) PUBLIC SAFETY MESSAGING CAMPAIGN.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 

6 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

7 shall create and execute a public safety messaging 

8 campaign including public safety media messages, 

9 posters, digital, and other media messages for dis10 tribution to States, divisions of motor vehicles, 

11 schools, and other public outlets to highlight the im12 portance of the illegal passing school buses, and 

13 should include educating students and the public on 

14 safe loading and unloading of schools buses. 

15 (2) CONSULTATION.—The Secretary shall con16 sult with public and private school bus industry rep17 resentatives and States in developing the appropriate 

18 messages. 

19 (3) UPDATE.—The Secretary shall periodically 

20 update the materials used in the campaign. 

21 (c) REVIEW OF TECHNOLOGIES.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after 

23 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

24 shall review and evaluate the effectiveness of various 

25 technologies, including cameras, audible warning 


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1 systems, enhanced lighting, and other technological 

2 solutions to enhance school bus safety. 

3 (2) CONTENT.—The review— 

4 (A) shall include an evaluation of the costs 

5 of new equipment and the potential impact on 

6 overall school bus ridership; 

7 (B) shall include an evaluation of advanced 

8 technologies surrounding loading zone safety; 

9 (C) shall include an evaluation of school 

10 bus lighting systems, to ensure clear commu11 nication to surrounding drivers on their appro12 priate action; 

13 (D) may include other technological solu14 tions that enhance school bus safety; and 

15 (E) may include a pilot program to test 

16 the technologies in school bus service. 

17 (3) CONSULTATION.—The Secretary shall con18 sult with manufacturers of school bus vehicles, man19 ufacturers of various technologies, and school bus in20 dustry representatives in conducting the review. 

21 (4) PUBLICATION.—The Secretary shall make 

22 the findings of the review publicly available on the 

23 website of the Department. 

24 (d) REVIEW OF DRIVER EDUCATION MATERIALS.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after 

2 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

3 shall— 

4 (A) review driver education materials 

5 across all States to determine whether and how 

6 illegal passing of school buses is addressed in 

7 driver education materials, manuals, non-CDL 

8 testing, and road tests; and 

9 (B) make recommendations on how States 

10 can improve education about illegal passing of 

11 school buses, particularly with new drivers. 

12 (2) CONSULTATION.—The Secretary shall con13 sult with school bus industry representatives, States, 

14 motor vehicle administrators, and other appropriate 

15 motor vehicle experts in the preparation of the re16 view. 

17 (3) PUBLICATION.—The Secretary shall make 

18 the findings of the review publicly available on the 

19 website of the Department. 

20 (e) REVIEW OF OTHER SAFETY ISSUES.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after 

22 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

23 shall research the connections between illegal pass24 ing of school buses and other safety issues, includ25 ing, but not limited to, distracted driving, morning 


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1 darkness, illumination and reach of vehicle head2 lights, speed limits, and school bus stop locations in 

3 rural areas and create a report containing the find4 ings. 

5 (2) PUBLICATION.—The Secretary shall make 

6 the findings of the report publicly available on the 

7 website of the Department. 

8 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

9 In this Act: 

10 (1) DEPARTMENT.—The term ‘‘Department’’ 

11 means the Department of Transportation. 

12 (2) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

13 the Secretary of Transportation. 

Æ 


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