2 senate bills aim to keep kids safe on school buses - WAFF-TV: News, Weather and Sports for Huntsville, AL

A bill on the senate floor is aimed to help keep kids safe on the school bus in more ways than one. Lawmakers hope this bill will make it illegal to trespass on a school bus and change the way people who pass a stopped school bus are brought to justice. 

Hank Summerford has a stack of more than 100 pictures of people who have been caught on camera passing a stopped school bus in the last year. Summerford is the Maintenance and Transportation Director for Morgan County schools. He said every week some drivers ignore the big red sign and flashing lights on a stopped school bus.

"We have an average of probably four to six stop sign runners a week in Morgan County alone," he said.  "There is no telling how many there are in the rest of the state." 

Summerford took his concerns to Senator Arthur Orr, who is trying to iron out what he calls a wrinkle in a current law that says police have to witness someone running a stopped school arm.  He's adding the adjustment to a bill that will make trespassing on a bus illegal.  

"We got together a language for a bill that would allow police to look at the video cameras in the school buses and make a conclusion that someone has broken the law and therefore issue a ticket to that person using the license plate," he said.   

Orr said he doesn't think the law should have a problem passing, but if it does, he will file a free standing one.  

Fines for passing a stopped school bus can be up to $500.   

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