Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1940-01-25
PUBLIC GENERAL LAWS
CHAPTER 44s

AN ACT to repeal and re-enact
with amendments Section 209A
of Article Sc of the Annotated
Code of Public General Laws
of Maryland, 1885 Supplement,
as such section was amended
by Chapter 1913 of the Acts of
1887, Regular Session, title
Licenses" subtitle "Motor
Vehicles" sub-heading "Rules
of the Road" to require school
busses operating throughout the
State to carry a special design
and color, to limit the speed of
school buses, to require school
buses to carry a fire extin-
guisher, to require school buses
to have an emergency rear
door, to require vehicles to stop
in front of and behind said
school BUSES operating through
out the State, to prohibit the
use of vehicles marked as school
buses when not actually used
as such, to require inspection
of school buses, to exempt from
the operation of certain portions
of this Act cities and towns of
more than five thousand popu-
lation, and to provide penalties
for violation hereof.
Section 1. Be it enacted by
the General Assembly of Mary
land, That Section 209A of Arti-
Gle Sc of the Annotated Code of
Public General Laws of Mary
land, 1885 Supplement, as such
section was amended by Chapter
1913 of the Acts of 1887, Regular
Session, title Licenses" subtitle
"Motor Vehicle" sub-heading
"Rules of the Road" be and the
same is hereby repealed and re-
enacted with amendments, to read
as follows:
209A. 1. Definition: The term
"school bus" as used in this Act
shall be defined as a motor We
hicle having a seating capacity of
ten or more persons and trans
porting children to and from the
elementary and/or high schools in
the State and not operating under
the jurisdiction of the Public Serv-
ice Commission and/or not oper-
ated by public service corpora
ton furnishing mass transporta-
ton in a town of a population of
more than $4,000 inhabitants.
2. Every vehicle when used as
a school bus shall have both on
the front and on the rear sign
plainly visible containing the
words school bus" in letters not
less than four inches in height,
with each stroke of not less than
half an inch in width; such school
bus shall also be equipped with
stop signals visible both to the
front and to the rear, and the
body of such school bus shall be
painted orange and black; with
the orange color predominating.
The Commissioner of Motor We
hicles is empowered to adopt rules
and regulations, not inconsistent
with this Article, relative to such
school bus signs and stop signals.
3. The driver of a vehicle upon
a highway outside the corporate
limits of incorporated cities and
towns of more than five thousand
population, upon meeting or over
taking any school bus which has
stopped on the highway for the
purpose of receiving or discharg-
ing any school child or children,
shall come to a full stop at least
ten (10) feet from such school
bus, either in front or rear there
of as the case may be, and such
vehicle shall remain standing until
the children are received or dis
charged and the school bus has
again started. The foregoing
shall be applicable only in the
event the school bus shall be
equipped with the school bus
signs and stop signals and paint
ed in the color scheme as pre-
scribed in this Act, and shall not
apply to vehicles approaching
such school bus from the front
on dual highways.
4. No school bus operating in
the State while it is carrying any
passengers to or from school shall
be operated at a rate of speed
greater than 35 miles per hour.
5. Every school bus operating
within the State shall be equipped
with a fire extinguisher which
bears the label of approval of the
Fire Underwriters' Association
and which shall be kept properly
filled and in satisfactory operat-
ing condition at all times. This
extinguisher shall be placed in
the school bus in a location read
lily accessible to the driver.
6. Every school bus operating
in this State shall have door in
or near the rear of the bus read
lily accessible for the discharging
of pupils in case of emergency.
The rear bumper shall be so
placed that it will not interfere
with the egress of the passengers
using the emergency door. The
door shall be controlled by a SAT-