A group of students from Fremont County School District 6 asked the Joint Education Committee to help crack down on school bus fly-bys in the state.
A fly-by is when a motorist illegally passes a school bus that has stopped to load or unload students, while raising a stop sign and turning on flashing warning lights.
Eleven-year-old Makayla Strahle of Crowhart was one of nine children killed in fly-bys nationally during the 2011 school year.
Fremont County District 6 Superintendent Diana Clapp says she was glad the committee was receptive to the students’ message.
“One of their strong recommendations was public awareness, another was enforcement, that fines would be progressive for repeat offenders,” Clapp said. “And that we have a mechanism to be able to enforce those laws for stop arm violations.”
The Joint Education Committee agreed a bill should be drafted that would cap fines at $750 and use available funding to install surveillance cameras on all schools buses used on daily routes. They’ll discuss the bill again in July.
