NORTH CAROLINA GENERAL ASSEMBLY

1971 SESSION

 

 

CHAPTER 245

HOUSE BILL 449

 

 

AN ACT TO AMEND G.S. 20-217 TO CLARIFY THE CIRCUMSTANCES UNDER WHICH IT IS ILLEGAL TO PASS A STOPPED SCHOOL BUS.

 

The General Assembly of North Carolina do enact:

 

Section 1.  G.S. 20-217, as the same appears in the 1969 Cumulative Supplement to the 1965 Replacement Volume 1C of the General Statutes, is amended by inserting the words "and displaying its mechanical stop signal" between the words "therefrom" and "upon" appearing in line seven thereof; and by inserting the words "is stopped and" between the words "bus" and "is" in line nine thereof so that G.S. 20-217 shall read as follows:

"§ 20-217.  Motor vehicles to stop for school, temple, church and Sunday school busses in certain instances. — Every person using, operating, or driving a motor vehicle upon the roads and highways of this State or upon any street of any town or city in this State, upon approaching from any direction on the same road, highway or street any school bus or any privately owned bus transporting children while such bus is stopped and engaged in receiving or discharging passengers therefrom and displaying its mechanical stop signal upon the roads or highways of the State or upon any of the streets of cities and towns of the State, or at any time while such bus is stopped and is displaying its mechanical stop signal, shall bring his motor vehicle to a full stop before passing or attempting to pass such bus and shall remain stopped until the mechanical stop signal of the bus has been withdrawn or until such bus has moved on; except, that the driver of a vehicle upon any road, highway or street which has been divided into two roadways, so constructed as to separate vehicular traffic between the two roadways by an intervening space or by a physical barrier, need not stop upon meeting or passing any such bus which has stopped in the roadway across such dividing space or physical barrier. No operator of such bus shall use the mechanical stop signal installed on such bus except for the purpose of indicating that such bus has stopped or is about to stop for the purpose of receiving or discharging passengers.

The provisions of this section are applicable only in the event the school, church, privately owned bus or Sunday school bus bears upon the front and rear thereof a plainly visible sign containing the words 'school bus' or the words 'church bus' or temple bus' or 'Sunday school bus' in letters not less than five inches in height.

Any person violating the provisions of this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction shall be fined not to exceed two hundred dollars ($200.00) or imprisoned not to exceed 90 days."

Sec. 2.  This act shall become effective July 1, 1971.

In the General Assembly read three times and ratified, this the 27th day of April, 1971.