Source: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/?id=169.443&year=2007
Timestamp: 2016-12-03 11:40:34
Document Index: 127254874

Matched Legal Cases: ['art 12', 'art 1', 'art 12', 'art 12', 'art 2', 'art 8']

169.443 - 2007 Minnesota Statutes
The Revisor of Statutes website is undergoing maintenance from 5pm Friday Dec. 2nd to noon Saturday Dec. 3rd. 2007 Minnesota StatutesTransportationChapter 169Section 169.443
2007 Table of Chapters2007 Statutes New, Amended or Repealed2007 Statutes Topics (Index)Chapter 169
Full Chapter TextSection 169.443
1997 Subd. 3 Amended 1Sp1997 c 4 art 12 s 7
Subdivision 1. Using bus signals. A driver of a school bus shall activate the prewarning flashing amber signals of the bus before stopping to load or unload school children. The driver shall activate and continuously operate the amber signals for a distance of at least 100 feet before stopping in a speed zone of 35 miles per hour or less and at least 300 feet before stopping in a speed zone of more than 35 miles per hour. On stopping for this purpose, the driver shall extend the stop-signal arm system and activate the flashing red signals. The driver shall not retract the stop-signal arm system nor extinguish the flashing red signals until loading or unloading is completed, students are seated, and children who must cross the roadway are safely across.
Subd. 2. Use of stop-signal arm. (a) The stop-signal arm system of a school bus must be used in conjunction with the flashing red signals only when the school bus is stopped on a street or highway to load or unload school children.
Subd. 3. When signals not used. School bus drivers shall not activate the prewarning flashing amber signals or flashing red signals and shall not use the stop arm signal:
Subd. 4. Street crossings. Where school children must cross a roadway before getting on or after getting off the school bus, the driver of the school bus or a school bus patrol may supervise the crossing, using the standard school patrol flag or signal as approved and prescribed by the commissioner of public safety. Before moving the school bus, the driver of the bus shall visually determine that all children have crossed the roadway and that those who are to do so have boarded the school bus.
Subd. 5. Moving bus after children unloaded. When children are getting off a school bus or Head Start bus, the driver shall visually determine that they are a safe distance from the bus before moving the bus.
Subd. 6. Type III buses. The driver of a type III school bus or type III Head Start bus shall load or unload school children or Head Start passengers only from the right-hand side of the vehicle, provided that on a one-way street the driver shall load or unload school children or Head Start passengers only from the curb side of the vehicle. When loading or unloading school children or Head Start passengers, the driver shall activate the vehicle's four-way hazard lights described in section 169.59, subdivision 4.
Subd. 7. Misdemeanor. A person who violates this section is guilty of a misdemeanor.
Subd. 8. Use for recreational or educational activity. A school bus that transports over regular routes and on regular schedules persons age 18 or under to and from a regularly scheduled recreational or educational activity must comply with subdivisions 1 and 7. Notwithstanding section 169.441, subdivision 3, a school bus may provide such transportation only if (1) the "school bus" sign is plainly visible; (2) the school bus has a valid certificate of inspection under section 169.451; (3) the driver of the school bus possesses a driver's license with a valid school bus endorsement under section 171.10; and (4) the entity that organizes the recreational or educational activity, or the contractor who provides the school buses to the entity, consults with the superintendent of the school district in which the activity is located or the superintendent's designee on the safety of the regular routes used.
Subd. 9. Personal cellular phone call prohibition. A school bus driver may not operate a school bus while communicating over, or otherwise operating, a cellular phone for personal reasons, whether hand-held or hands free, when the vehicle is in motion.
History: 1991 c 277 s 5; 1992 c 516 s 2,3; 1993 c 78 s 1; 1994 c 465 art 1 s 25; 1994 c 603 s 7,8; 1994 c 647 art 12 s 17; 1Sp1997 c 4 art 12 s 7; 2000 c 426 s 25; 2004 c 294 art 2 s 21,22; 2007 c 146 art 8 s 4