House File 2497 - Introduced
HOUSE FILE 2497
BY FORBES
A BILL FOR
1 An Act relating to drivers who fail to slow or stop when
2 approaching a school bus displaying flashing lights or a
3 stop signal arm, and providing penalties.
4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
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1 Section 1. Section 321.261, subsection 2, Code 2024, is
2 amended to read as follows:
3 2. Any person failing to stop or to comply with the
4 requirements in subsection 1 of this section, in the event of
5 an accident resulting in an injury to any person is guilty upon
6 conviction of a serious misdemeanor. If the violation occurs
7 in connection with a violation of section 321.372, subsection
8 3, the person is guilty upon conviction of an aggravated
9 misdemeanor.
10 Sec. 2. Section 321.372, subsection 5, paragraph b, Code
11 2024, is amended to read as follows:
12 b. A person convicted of a violation of subsection 3 is
13 subject to one of the following penalties, as applicable:
14 (1) (a) For a first offense under subsection 3 if no minor
15 pedestrian is present outside the school bus, the person is
16 guilty of a simple misdemeanor punishable by a fine of at least
17 three hundred forty-five dollars but not more than nine hundred
18 thirty dollars or by imprisonment for not more than thirty
19 days, or by both. The department may require the person to
20 attend and successfully complete, at the person’s own expense,
21 a driver improvement program approved by the department in
22 lieu of driver’s license suspension for the offense pursuant
23 to section 321.210.
24 (b) For a second or subsequent offense under subparagraph
25 division (a), the person is guilty of a serious misdemeanor.
26 (2) If a minor pedestrian is present outside the school bus,
27 the person commits a serious misdemeanor.
28 (3) If the person strikes a minor pedestrian, the person
29 commits an aggravated misdemeanor.
30 (4) If the person causes bodily injury, the person commits a
31 class “D” felony.
32 (5) If the person causes serious injury, as defined in
33 section 702.18, the person commits a class “C” felony.
34 (2) For a second or subsequent offense under subsection 3,
35 the person is guilty of a serious misdemeanor.
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1 Sec. 3. Section 321.372, subsection 5, Code 2024, is amended
2 by adding the following new paragraph:
3 NEW PARAGRAPH. c. As used in this subsection, “minor
4 pedestrian” means a person under the age of eighteen who was a
5 passenger or will be a passenger on a school bus, including but
6 not limited to such a person waiting for a school bus, entering
7 a school bus, or exiting a school bus, if the person is on
8 the roadway or immediately adjacent to the roadway on which a
9 school bus is being operated.
10 EXPLANATION
11 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
12 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
13 Current law requires the driver of any vehicle who knows or
14 has reason to believe that the driver’s vehicle was involved
15 in an accident resulting in injury to or death of any person
16 to immediately stop the vehicle at the scene of the accident
17 or as close as possible and if able, return to and remain at
18 the scene of the accident. In addition, if the driver leaves
19 the scene of an accident resulting in injury to or death of a
20 person without knowledge or reason to believe that the driver’s
21 vehicle was involved in the accident, and later discovers that
22 the driver’s vehicle may have been involved in an accident that
23 resulted in injury to or death of a person, the driver must,
24 as soon as reasonably possible, make a good-faith effort to
25 immediately contact emergency services or make a 911 call and
26 provide the dispatcher with any requested information and the
27 location and possible time of the accident. This bill enhances
28 the penalty for a violation of this provision when a person
29 fails to yield or stop when required while approaching a school
30 bus when such failure results in injury. Such a violation
31 is an aggravated misdemeanor under the bill. An aggravated
32 misdemeanor is punishable by confinement for no more than two
33 years and a fine of at least $855 but not more than $8,540.
34 Under current law, a person operating a vehicle (driver)
35 is required to reduce the vehicle’s speed to not more than 20
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1 miles per hour when meeting a school bus with flashing amber
2 warning lamps, and must bring the vehicle to a complete stop
3 when the school bus stops and the stop signal arm is extended.
4 The driver must remain stopped until the stop signal arm is
5 retracted after which time the driver is authorized to proceed
6 with due caution. Additionally, a driver is prohibited from
7 overtaking or passing a school bus when red or amber warning
8 signal lights are flashing. The driver must bring the vehicle
9 to a complete stop no closer than 15 feet from the school bus
10 when the bus is stopped and the stop arm is extended, and the
11 driver must remain stopped until the stop arm is retracted and
12 the school bus resumes motion.
13 A driver who violates any of these provisions (school bus
14 provisions) commits a simple misdemeanor punishable by a fine
15 of at least $340 but not more than $930 or by imprisonment for
16 not more than 30 days, or by both. This fine is enhanced from
17 the standard simple misdemeanor fine of at least $105 but not
18 more than $855. However, the department of transportation
19 (DOT) may require a person to attend and successfully complete,
20 at the person’s own expense, a driver improvement program
21 approved by the DOT in lieu of the DOT suspending the person’s
22 driver’s license pursuant to Code section 321.210.
23 The bill enhances and adds new criminal penalties if a driver
24 violates the school bus provisions, but does not affect the
25 option for a person to complete a driver improvement program in
26 lieu of a driver’s license suspension for a first offense if no
27 minor pedestrian is present outside of a school bus.
28 Under the bill, a driver commits a serious misdemeanor if the
29 violation occurs while a minor pedestrian is present outside
30 of a school bus. The bill defines “minor pedestrian” for
31 purposes of Code section 321.372(5). A serious misdemeanor is
32 punishable by confinement for no more than one year and a fine
33 of at least $430 but not more than $2,560.
34 Under the bill, a driver who strikes a minor pedestrian
35 commits an aggravated misdemeanor.
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1 If a driver causes bodily injury, the driver commits a class
2 “D” felony. A class “D” felony is punishable by confinement
3 for no more than five years and a fine of at least $1,025 but
4 not more than $10,245.
5 If a driver causes serious injury, defined by reference as
6 a disabling mental illness, a bodily injury which (1) creates
7 a substantial risk of death, (2) causes serious permanent
8 disfigurement, or (3) causes protracted loss or impairment of
9 the function of any bodily member or organ, and any injury to
10 a child that requires surgical repair and necessitates the
11 administration of general anesthesia, including but not limited
12 to skull fractures, rib fractures, and metaphyseal fractures
13 of the long bones of children under the age of four years,
14 the driver commits a class “C” felony. A class “C” felony is
15 punishable by confinement for no more than 10 years and a fine
16 of at least $1,370 but not more than $13,660.
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Statutes affected:
Introduced: 321.261, 321.372, 702.18