INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — A bill approved by the state Senate could make it easier to issue tickets for school bus stop-arm violations and increase penalties for those disobeying the law.
The measure, authored by Republican Sen. Rick Niemeyer, R-Lowell, would allow police to send a citation to the registered owner of a vehicle that illegally passes a stopped school bus without an officer directly witnessing the violation.
Current law requires a law enforcement officer to identify the driver of the vehicle and recommend that person be charged with a misdemeanor crime.
Under Niemeyer's plan, violations could instead be captured by stop-arm cameras affixed to school buses, which can document the license plate of an offending vehicle.
