Overview
- The new law, which took effect in March, makes flashing red bus lights alone the trigger for drivers to stop and is being emphasized as students return for the first full school year under the change.
- Drivers must stop at least 20 feet from a stopped school bus and remain stopped until the lights stop flashing, including for traffic approaching the bus on undivided roads.
- Penalties start at a $500 fine and can include a misdemeanor, while passing on the bus’s right side or passing while students are outside can be charged as a gross misdemeanor.
- Data that spurred the rewrite include a one-day survey that recorded 514 illegal passes in Minnesota and more than 2,000 stop-arm citations statewide last year.
- The Department of Public Safety spent about $16 million to equip roughly 8,000 buses with cameras, which officials say are improving detection and will support stepped-up enforcement and citation efforts.