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2018 SESSION
18100710DBe it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That § 46.2-859 of the Code of Virginia is amended and reenacted as follows:
§ 46.2-859. Passing a stopped school bus; prima facie evidence.
A. A
person driving a motor vehicle shall stop such vehicle 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 shall remain
stopped until all the persons are clear of the highway, private road or school
driveway and the bus is put in motion; any person
violating the foregoing is guilty of reckless driving. The
driver of a vehicle, however, need not stop when approaching a school bus if
the school bus is stopped on the other roadway of a divided highway, on an
access road, or on a driveway when 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 the driver is directed by a law-enforcement
officer or other duly authorized uniformed school crossing guard to pass 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 is prima facie evidence that the vehicle is a school bus.
B. Any person who violates this section is guilty of reckless driving. Any person who violates this section and causes serious bodily injury to another person is guilty of a Class 5 felony.
2. That the provisions of this act may result in a net increase in periods of imprisonment or commitment. Pursuant to § 30-19.1:4, the estimated amount of the necessary appropriation cannot be determined for periods of imprisonment in state adult correctional facilities; therefore, Chapter 836 of the Acts of Assembly of 2017 requires the Virginia Criminal Sentencing Commission to assign a minimum fiscal impact of $50,000. Pursuant to § 30-19.1:4, the estimated amount of the necessary appropriation cannot be determined for periods of commitment to the custody of the Department of Juvenile Justice.