S1469

 

SENATE, No. 1469

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

221st LEGISLATURE

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2024 SESSION

 


 

Sponsored by:

Senator JOSEPH A. LAGANA

District 38 (Bergen)

Senator PATRICK J. DIEGNAN, JR.

District 18 (Middlesex)

 

Co-Sponsored by:

Senators Moriarty, Holzapfel, Polistina, Beach, Singer, McKnight, Mukherji, Greenstein and Ruiz

 

 

 

 

SYNOPSIS

Authorizes use of school bus monitoring systems.

 

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.


An Act concerning school bus safety, amending P.L.1942, c.192, and supplementing Title 39 of the Revised Statutes.

 

Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

 

1. Section 1 of P.L.1942, c.192 (C.39:4-128.1) is amended to read as follows:

1. a. On highways having roadways not divided by safety islands or physical traffic separation installations, the driver of a vehicle approaching or overtaking a bus, which is being used for the transportation of children to or from school or a summer day camp or any school connected activity, or which is being used for the transportation of a person who has a developmental disability, and which has stopped for the purpose of receiving or discharging any child or a person who has a developmental disability, shall stop [such] the vehicle not less than 25 feet from [such] the school bus and keep [such] the vehicle stationary until [such] any child or person who has a developmental disability has entered [said] the bus or has alighted and reached the side of [such] the highway and until a flashing red light is no longer exhibited by the bus; provided, [such] the bus is designated as a school bus by one sign on the front and one sign on the rear, with each letter on [such signs] any sign at least four inches in height.

On highways having dual or multiple roadways separated by safety islands or physical traffic separation installations, the driver of a vehicle overtaking a school bus, which has stopped for the purpose of receiving or discharging any child or any person who has a developmental disability, shall stop [such] the vehicle not less than 25 feet from such school bus and keep [such] the vehicle stationary until [such] any child or person who has a developmental disability has entered [said] the bus or has alighted and reached the side of the highway and until a flashing red light is no longer exhibited by the bus.

On highways having dual or multiple roadways separated by safety islands or physical traffic separation installations, the driver of a vehicle on another roadway approaching a school bus, which has stopped for the purpose of receiving or discharging any child, or any person who has a developmental disability shall reduce the speed of his vehicle to not more than 10 miles per hour and shall not resume normal speed until the vehicle has passed the bus and has passed any child who may have alighted therefrom or be about to enter [said] the bus.

For purposes of this section, "highway" means the entire width between the boundary lines of every way whether publicly or

privately maintained when any part [thereof] is open to the public for purposes of vehicular travel.

Whenever a school bus is parked at the curb for the purpose of receiving children directly from a school or a summer day camp or any school connected activity or discharging children to enter a school, or a summer day camp or any school connected activity, which is located on the same side of the street as that on which the bus is parked, drivers of vehicles shall be permitted to pass [said] the bus without stopping, but at a speed not in excess of 10 miles per hour.

Whenever a school bus is parked at the curb for the purpose of receiving or discharging a person who has a developmental disability on the same side of the street as that on which the bus is parked, drivers of vehicles shall be permitted to pass the bus without stopping, but at a speed not in excess of 10 miles per hour.

The driver of a bus which is being used for the transportation of children to or from school or a summer day camp or any school connected activity, or for the transportation of a person who has a developmental disability shall continue to exhibit a flashing red light and shall not start [his] the bus until every child who may have alighted therefrom shall have reached a place of safety.

[Any] b. A person who [shall violate] violates any provision of [this act] subsection a. of this section shall be subject to (1) a fine of [not less than $100.00] $250, (2) [imprisonment for not more than 15 days or] community service for not more than 15 days in [such] the form and on [such] terms as the court shall deem appropriate, (3) or both for the first offense, and a fine [not less than $250.00, imprisonment] of $500 and community service for not [more] less than 15 days [, or both] in the form and on the terms as the court shall deem appropriate for each subsequent offense. The penalties shall be enforced and recovered pursuant to the provisions of chapter 5 of Title 39 of the Revised Statutes. There shall be a rebuttable presumption that the registered owner of the vehicle which was involved in the violation of this section was the person who committed the act. Any person who suppresses, by way of concealment or destruction, any evidence of a violation of this section or who suppresses the identity of the violator shall be subject to a fine of $100.

The Chief Administrator of the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission may also revoke the license to drive a motor vehicle of any person who shall have been guilty of [such] the willful violation of any of the provisions of this act as shall, in the discretion of the chief administrator, justify [such] the revocation, but the chief administrator shall, at all times, have power to validate [such] a license which has been revoked, or to grant a new license to any person whose license to drive a motor vehicle shall have been revoked pursuant to this act.

c. Notwithstanding any provision of this section to the contrary, a person who violates any provision of subsection a. of this section where the evid