North Carolina governor signs bill on illegal bus passing
RALEIGH, N.C. — On Monday, Gov. Bev Perdue signed into law a bill that targets motorists who pass stopped school buses. The Nicolas Adkins Sc...
RALEIGH, N.C. — On Monday, Gov. Bev Perdue signed into law a bill that targets motorists who pass stopped school buses.
The Nicolas Adkins School Bus Safety Act, named after a teen who was killed earlier this year as he was boarding his school bus, allows school districts to install cameras or video recording systems on school buses to catch motorists who pass while the buses are loading or unloading students.
The footage from those devices can be used as evidence in prosecuting violators.
Under the law, any motorist who passes a stopped school bus and strikes a person will be guilty of a Class I felony. If striking the person results in a fatality, the motorist will be guilty of a Class H felony.
News 14 reported that the law changes the second offense from a Class I to a Class H felony, signifying that judges are “more likely to give jail time.”
The law will take effect on Dec. 1 and apply to offenses committed on or after that date.
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