‘A lot of people are very unhappy’ as new law hits drivers with quadruple fines of up to $1,000 for common mistake

A LAST-minute change to a key road rule that imposes some of the country’s strictest fines has left lawmakers at loggerheads.

Drivers are subject to a $1,000 fine if they make a common mistake that turns out to be extremely dangerous for children.

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Passing a school bus after it has stopped and turned on the stop sign is illegal.

The dangerous measure put the lives of thousands of children at risk.

Studies that looked at more than 90,000 school bus drivers in 33 states found that about 25.8% of buses had cars pass illegally when stopped.

The Georgia House of Representatives has passed a bill that aims to protect school-aged children by increasing fines for drivers, according to the Atlanta-based NBC affiliate. WXIA-TV.

The House narrowly passed Addy’s Law, a bill named after Adalynn Pierce.

Pierce was eight years old when a car hit her as she was crossing the street next to a school bus.

She died from her injuries.

The new highway law quadruples the minimum fine for a violation to $1,000.

Representative Lauren Daniel, one of the bill’s sponsors, supported the bill after it underwent major changes.

“It’s late. This bill is not what it originally was,” she said.

Initially, the project was planned to address public debt.

However, after several rewrites, the bill did not address the debt and instead increased the school bus fine.

Some lawmakers were stunned by the increase in fines.

“A lot of people are going to be very unhappy with this legislation,” Rep. Don Parsons said before the vote.

“A thousand-dollar fine can prevent someone from paying their rent, paying their house, putting food on the table.”

School bus ticket laws

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHSTA), it is illegal in all 50 states to pass a school bus when it is stopped, the red strobe lights are flashing, and the stop sign is on.

“All states require that traffic in both directions stop on undivided highways when students enter or exit a school bus,” the agency’s website says.

Florida launched a program in May 2024 that will cite drivers who illegally pass stopped school buses with the help of AI-powered cameras to capture images of the violators, citing a key law.

In Florida, Chapter 316, Title 19, says:

• Any person using, operating or driving a vehicle upon the roads or highways of this state shall, when approaching any school bus displaying a stop sign, come to a complete stop of such vehicle while the bus is stopped, and the vehicle shall not overtake the bus school until the sign is removed. Anyone who violates this section commits a movable offense, punishable as provided in chapter 318.
• Any person who uses, operates, or drives a vehicle that passes a school bus on the side on which children enter and exit when the school bus displays a stop sign commits a moving violation, punishable as provided in Chapter 318, and is subject to a mandatory hearing under the provisions of s. 318.19

Source: NHSTA, Florida Legislature

Daniels said the bill was a moderate fine compared to other states, claiming Indiana received $10,000 in fines for the violation.

However, a judge in Indiana said fines for illegal school bus passing are discretionary for the magistrate in the case, according to WXIA-TV.

Drivers can pay just $1 for the violation.

Daniels also said that the fine was proportional to the damage caused by the driving error.

“A thousand dollars is obviously a fine that’s going to make people upset,” she said.

“It’s a lot cheaper than paying for a child’s funeral.”