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2002 SESSION
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That §§ 46.2-844 and 46.2-859 of the Code of Virginia are amended and reenacted as follows:
§ 46.2-844. Passing stopped school buses; penalty; prima facie evidence.
The driver of a motor vehicle approaching from any direction a clearly marked
school bus which is stopped on any highway, private road or school driveway for
the purpose of taking on or discharging children, the elderly, or mentally or physically
handicapped persons, who, in violation of § 46.2-859, fails to stop and remain
stopped until all such persons are clear of the highway, private road or school
driveway, shall be is subject to a civil penalty of $250 and any such
prosecution shall be instituted and conducted in the same manner as prosecutions for traffic infractions.
A prosecution or proceeding under § 46.2-859 shall be is a bar to a prosecution
or proceeding under this section for the same act and a prosecution or proceeding
under this section shall be is a bar to a prosecution or proceeding under
§ 46.2-859 for the same act.
In any prosecution for which a summons charging a violation of this section was
issued within ten days of the alleged violation, proof that the motor vehicle
described in the summons was operated in violation of this section, together
with proof that the defendant was at the time of such violation the registered
owner of the vehicle, as required by Chapter 6 (§ 46.2-600 et seq.) of this
title shall give rise to a rebuttable presumption that such the registered
owner of the vehicle was the person who operated the vehicle at the place where, and for the time
during which, such the violation occurred.
The testimony of the school bus driver, the supervisor of school buses or a
law-enforcement officer that the vehicle was yellow, conspicuously marked as a
school bus, and equipped with warning devices as prescribed in § 46.2-1090
shall be is prima facie evidence that the vehicle is a school bus.
§ 46.2-859. Passing a stopped school bus; prima facie evidence.
A person shall be is guilty of reckless driving who fails to stop, when
approaching from any direction, any school bus which is stopped on any highway,
private road or school driveway for the purpose of taking on or discharging
children, the elderly, or mentally or physically handicapped persons, and to remain
stopped until all such the persons are clear of the highway, private road or
school driveway and the bus is put in motion. The driver of a vehicle, however, need not stop when approaching a
school bus if such the school bus is stopped on the other roadway of a divided
highway, on an access road, or on a driveway when such the other roadway,
access road, or driveway is separated from the roadway on which he is driving
by a physical barrier or an unpaved area. The driver of a vehicle also need not
stop when approaching a school bus which is loading or discharging passengers
from or onto property immediately adjacent to a school if such the driver is
directed by a law-enforcement officer or other duly authorized uniformed school crossing guard to
pass such the school bus. This section shall apply to school buses which are
equipped with warning devices prescribed in § 46.2-1090 and are painted yellow
with the words "School Bus" in black letters at least eight inches high on the
front and rear thereof. Only school buses which are painted yellow and equipped
with the required lettering and warning devices shall be identified as school
buses.
The testimony of the school bus driver, the supervisor of school buses or a
law-enforcement officer that the vehicle was yellow, conspicuously marked as a
school bus, and equipped with warning devices as prescribed in § 46.2-1090
shall be is prima facie evidence that the vehicle is a school bus.