Drivers must stop for school buses

This excludes roadways with physical barriers separating traffic

Friday morning Gov. Brian Kemp signed a bill which will require all Georgia motorists in all lanes to stop for a school bus on any roadway unless there is a physical barrier.

Drivers on all roads and highways must now stop when they see the red lights activated on a school bus. The only exception is for roads with physical barriers. A physical barrier is when two lanes of traffic are separated by a grassy median or unpaved area.

Violation of this new law can result in fines up to $1,000, six points put onto a driver’s record and a suspended license for drivers under the age of 21.

According to Jeff Wilson, superintendent for Floyd County Schools, this bill is a modification of another one passed last year which had confusing language regarding drivers and school buses. ou Byars, superintendent for Rome City Schools cited Shorter Avenue and Turner McCall Boulevard as examples where both lanes of traffic must now stop when a school bus stops. Both superintendents said

to be on the safe side just go ahead and stop when you see a school bus picking up a student or dropping them off.

Senate Bill 25 was unanimously approved by the Georgia General Assembly and is now law.

“I want to thank House and Senate leadership – and all members of the General Assembly – for their unanimous support of this important legislation,” said Kemp. “Republicans and Democrats all recognized that swift action was needed on this issue.”

This is the first bill Kemp has signed into law during his term as governor.