Photo by William Tauro

By Bob Katzen

The House gave initial approval to a measure that adds a seven-day license suspension to the current $250 fine for not stopping for a school bus.

“I filed this bill after hearing from concerned parents and school bus drivers,” said the bill’s sponsor Rep. Susannah Whipps (I-Athol). “Motorists put children’s lives in danger when they fail to stop for the school bus as children get on or exit.”

Whipps also noted that according to the American School Bus Council, one-third of children who are killed outside the school bus are between five and seven years old; nearly two-thirds of bus related fatalities of school-age children occur outside the school bus; and passing vehicles are responsible for two-thirds of school bus loading and unloading fatalities.