Bill could up penalties for passing school buses

WADSWORTH — A new Ohio Senate bill could spell stiffer penalties for motorists who illegally pass a stopped school bus, an occurrence that Wadsworth Schools officials said Monday has been a consistent local problem. Senate Bill 134 would create a new offense for vehicular homicide and vehicular assault in relation to improperly passing a parked school bus and appropriate roughly $500,000 in state funds to school districts for the purpose of outfitting buses with dashboard cameras. Wadsworth buses already have been retrofitted with such cameras, which have the capability to identify and document other vehicles' license plates in the event of an illegal pass, district Superintendent Andy Hill said. "It happens a heck of a lot more frequently than I would have ever thought," he said regarding how often drivers in Wadsworth have been caught or observed passing a stopped school bus. "It's pretty crazy and seems to happen more than it used to. I don't know what the reason is, but it's definitely occurring more or we have more awareness now of it occurring." Hill said the district at times has been subpoenaed to provide camera footage after a driver has been cited with passing a stopped bus. "It's happened here and there," he said. "I think a lot of those get settled before it subpoenas become involved, but if someone decides to fight it, it's not unusual for us to get a subpoena." Impatient driving in Wadsworth also has been noticed and cited beyond the eyes of the school district. Last summer, city officials warned residents to stop tailgating emergency vehicles with sirens on as a way to take shortcuts through traffic. Ohio law states that drivers must stop at least 10 feet from the front or rear of a stopped school bus until the bus resumes motion or the driver signals that it's OK to pass. When a roadway has four or more lanes, a driver approaching the bus from the opposite direction is not required to stop, but those driving in the same direction as the bus are. On divided or four-lane highways, bus drivers are required to drop students off on their home's side of the road. Those who are cited with passing a stopped bus can be fined up to $500 and may be subject to one-year license suspensions. Senate Bill 134 could also increase that fine amount. Studies estimate drivers illegally pass stopped school buses about 13 million times each school year nationwide. Between 2007 and 2016, 1,147 motor vehicle crashes were classified as being related to school transportation. Over that same period, 1,282 people died in those crashes — an average of 128 per year — according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Among those that died, 98 were students 18 or younger; 39 of them were struck by other vehicles. Contact reporter Jonathan Delozier at (330) 721-4050 or jdelozier@medina-gazette.com.