Cleveland City Council aims to increase bus-passing penalties

CLEVELAND — The Cleveland City Council is taking steps to increase the penalties for illegally passing a stopped school bus after local motorist Shena Hardin served her sentence for committing such a violation, The Plain Dealer reports.  

As previously reported, Hardin was sentenced to stand at the intersection where she passed a stopped school bus with a sign that said, “Only an idiot drives on the sidewalk to avoid a school bus.” The judge in her case also suspended her license for 30 days and ordered Hardin to pay a $250 fine.

Now, Councilman Kevin Conwell has introduced an ordinance that would upgrade failure to stop for school buses from a minor misdemeanor punishable by a $500 fine to a first-degree misdemeanor, according to The Plain Dealer. A violation would carry a sentence of up to six months in jail, a $1,000 fine and a license suspension of up to three years.

Cleveland Municipal Judge Pinkey Carr, who oversaw Hardin’s case, attended the council meeting Monday night in support of the ordinance.

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Other news on bus-passing penalties:

• Iowa adopts increased sanctions for illegal bus passing

• House passes measure to bolster illegal bus passing laws