II 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1254 

To require the Secretary of Transportation to review and report on certain 

laws, safety measures, and technologies relating to the illegal passing 

of school buses, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 30, 2019 

Mr. YOUNG (for himself and Mr. PETERS) introduced the following bill; which 

was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

Transportation 

A BILL 

To require the Secretary of Transportation to review and 

report on certain laws, safety measures, and technologies 

relating to the 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’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
2 

•S 1254 IS

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

2 means the Department of Transportation. 

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

4 the Secretary of Transportation. 

5 SEC. 3. REVIEW OF LAWS, SAFETY MEASURES, AND TECH6 NOLOGIES. 

7 (a) REVIEW OF ILLEGAL PASSING LAWS.— 

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

9 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

10 shall prepare a report that— 

11 (A) identifies and describes all illegal pass12 ing laws in each State relating to school buses, 

13 including— 

14 (i) the level of enforcement of those 

15 laws; 

16 (ii) the penalties associated with those 

17 laws; 

18 (iii) any issues relating to the enforce19 ment of those laws; and 

20 (iv) the effectiveness of those laws; 

21 (B) reviews existing State laws that may 

22 inhibit the effectiveness of safety counter23 measures in school bus loading zones, such as— 

24 (i) laws that require the face of a 

25 driver to be visible in an image captured 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
3 

•S 1254 IS

1 by a camera if enforcement action is to be 

2 taken based on that image; 

3 (ii) laws that may reduce stop-arm 

4 camera effectiveness; 

5 (iii) the need for a law enforcement 

6 officer to witness an event for enforcement 

7 action to be taken; and 

8 (iv) the lack of primary enforcement 

9 for texting and driving; 

10 (C) evaluates the methods used by each 

11 State to review, document, and report to law 

12 enforcement school bus stop-arm violations; and 

13 (D) recommends best practices relating to 

14 the most effective approaches to address the il15 legal passing of school buses. 

16 (2) PUBLICATION.—The report under para17 graph (1) shall be made publicly available on the 

18 website of the Department. 

19 (b) PUBLIC SAFETY MESSAGING CAMPAIGN.— 

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

21 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

22 shall establish and implement a public safety mes23 saging campaign that uses public safety media mes24 sages, posters, digital media messages, and other 

25 media messages distributed to States, State departVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:11 May 03, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1254.IS S1254

kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
4 

•S 1254 IS

1 ments of motor vehicles, schools, and other public 

2 outlets— 

3 (A) to highlight the importance of address4 ing the illegal passing of school buses; and 

5 (B) to educate students and the public on 

6 the safe loading and unloading of schools buses. 

7 (2) CONSULTATION.—In carrying out para8 graph (1), the Secretary shall consult with— 

9 (A) representatives of the school bus indus10 try from the public and private sectors; and 

11 (B) States. 

12 (3) UPDATES.—The Secretary shall periodically 

13 update the materials used in the campaign under 

14 paragraph (1). 

15 (c) REVIEW OF TECHNOLOGIES.— 

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

17 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

18 shall review and evaluate the effectiveness of various 

19 technologies for enhancing school bus safety, includ20 ing technologies such as— 

21 (A) cameras; 

22 (B) audible warning systems; and 

23 (C) enhanced lighting. 

24 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—The review under para25 graph (1)— 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
5 

•S 1254 IS

1 (A) shall include— 

2 (i) an evaluation of— 

3 (I) the costs of acquiring and op4 erating new equipment; and 

5 (II) the potential impact of that 

6 equipment on overall school bus rider7 ship; 

8 (ii) an evaluation of the impact of ad9 vanced technologies on school bus loading 

10 zone safety; and 

11 (iii) an evaluation of the effectiveness 

12 of school bus lighting systems at clearly 

13 communicating to surrounding drivers the 

14 appropriate actions those drivers should 

15 take; and 

16 (B) may include— 

17 (i) an evaluation of any technological 

18 solutions that may enhance school bus 

19 safety outside of the school bus loading 

20 zone; and 

21 (ii) a pilot program to test any tech22 nologies in school bus service. 

23 (3) CONSULTATION.—In carrying out the re24 view under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall con25 sult with— 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
6 

•S 1254 IS

1 (A) manufacturers of school buses; 

2 (B) manufacturers of various technologies 

3 that may enhance school bus safety; and 

4 (C) school bus industry representatives. 

5 (4) PUBLICATION.—The Secretary shall make 

6 the findings of the review under paragraph (1) pub7 licly available on the website of the Department. 

8 (d) REVIEW OF DRIVER EDUCATION MATERIALS.— 

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

10 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

11 shall— 

12 (A) review driver education materials in all 

13 States to determine whether and how illegal 

14 passing of school buses is addressed in those 

15 driver education materials, including— 

16 (i) manuals; 

17 (ii) testing for noncommercial driver’s 

18 licenses; and 

19 (iii) road tests; and 

20 (B) make recommendations on how States 

21 can improve education about the illegal passing 

22 of school buses, particularly for new drivers. 

23 (2) CONSULTATION.—In carrying out para24 graph (1), the Secretary shall consult with— 

25 (A) school bus industry representatives; 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
7 

•S 1254 IS

1 (B) States; 

2 (C) the chief executive officer of the de3 partment of transportation of each State; and 

4 (D) other appropriate motor vehicle ex5 perts. 

6 (3) PUBLICATION.—The Secretary shall make 

7 the findings of the review under paragraph (1) pub8 licly available on the website of the Department. 

9 (e) REVIEW OF OTHER SAFETY ISSUES.— 

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

11 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

12 shall research and prepare a report on the connec13 tions between the illegal passing of school buses and 

14 other safety issues, including issues such as— 

15 (A) distracted driving; 

16 (B) morning darkness; 

17 (C) illumination and reach of vehicle head18 lights; 

19 (D) speed limits; and 

20 (E) the locations of school bus stops in 

21 rural areas. 

22 (2) PUBLICATION.—The Secretary shall make 

23 the report under paragraph (1) publicly available on 

24 the website of the Department. 

Æ 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS