After 8-year-old girl Elizabeth Bates was hit and killed as she exited her school bus in 2008, her family went to work to prevent another similar tragedy. Thanks to their efforts, there is a new school bus safety law on the books, HB 2170, which requires all vehicles to stop for school buses on every road — including rural roads — and for bus drivers to engage their stop arms and flashing lights on these roads as well.
Elizabeth’s grandfather, Butch Bates, said “Elizabeth’s Law” marks the fulfillment of a promise he and her father made to her when she passed away, reported the local ABC News affiliate. When Elizabeth was getting off the bus, the approaching truck driver did not stop and was not required to do so because at that time, Arizona law didn’t require drivers to wait for stopped buses on private roads. After the tragedy, Bates noted that his son, Craig Bates, and their family drafted a new law to close this loophole, working with attorney Marc Lamer.
In April Gov. Jan Brewer signed the bill that amends Arizona Revised Statutes 28-857 to require school bus drivers to perform loading and unloading on private roads the same way they do on public roads. An attorney for the family of Elizabeth Bates explained there had been little distinction in rural parts of the state between public and private roads. She also claimed that Bates’ school bus driver did not activate the stop arm or flashing reds when the incident occurred.
“We believe that HB2170 will clarify, for training and operation purposes, that school bus drivers must engage the school bus warning lights and stop arm while loading or unloading students when transporting passengers to and from home and school,” she added. “By changing the statute, this will be a first step toward implementing regulations and training for school bus drivers.”
Two local student transporters applauded the new law designed to protect school bus riders statewide. Dean Humphrey, director of transportation at Pendergast Elementary School District in West Phoenix, called the amendment a “clear direction” for school bus drivers on exactly when and where they must activate the stop arm and red lights. Meanwhile, Antonio Mlynek, transportation supervisor at Washington Elementary School District in Phoenix noted that the new law makes sense and is “the right thing to do.”
Violators of Arizona’s illegal school bus passing law face minimum citations of $250 for first offenses, and those convicted of another violation within three years of the first can be fined a minimum of $750 and lose their driver’s license for up to six months. The court shall impose a minimum civil penalty of $250. A third violation within the same three years increases the fine to at least $1,000 and loss of a driver’s license for up to a year.
