AUGUSTA, Maine — State Sen. John Nutting has introduced a bill that would prohibit bicyclists from passing school buses that are stopped to load or unload students.

Like motorists, bicyclists would have to halt unless they were traveling on the opposite side of a road divided by curbing or some other physical barrier.

They would not be allowed to proceed until the bus resumed motion or until they were signaled by the driver to proceed.

The rules would also apply to people operating motorized bicycles, motorized tricycles and motorized scooters.

According to WCSH6, Nutting introduced his bill after Winthrop school bus driver Dennis Farnsworth watched a bicyclist pass his bus while its stop arm was out and its lights were flashing, narrowly missing two kindergartners.

Farnsworth reported the incident, only to find that the current law, which prohibits motorists from passing stopped school buses, did not apply.

Farnsworth told WCSH6, "It bothers me to think that [bicyclists] are supposed to stop at a stop sign. They are supposed to yield to other cars. But when it comes to the red lights on a bus, they don't have to stop."

The bill is slated to head to a workshop on Thursday and currently faces no opposition, WCSH6 reported.