🌎 Resumen en español · traducción automática
A partir del 15 de julio, Kentucky expandió significativamente las leyes que requieren que los conductores se detengan para autobuses escolares, ahora exigiendo que vehículos en ambas direcciones se detengan en carreteras de múltiples carriles a menos que haya una barrera elevada o mediana sin pavimentar. La Ley de la Casa 7 busca mejorar la seguridad de los aproximadamente 400,000 estudiantes que viajan diariamente en autobuses escolares, cerrando una brecha de seguridad anterior que permitía a los conductores pasar autobuses detenidos en carreteras de cuatro carriles cuando viajaban en dirección opuesta. Las violaciones conllevan multas de 300 dólares para infractores primerizos y 500 dólares para infracciones posteriores, y los distritos escolares ahora pueden instalar cámaras en los brazos de parada para documentar los adelantamientos ilegales.
Traducción y resumen generados por IA a partir del artículo en inglés. Puede contener errores; consulte el texto original.
FRANKFORT, Ky. — As Kentucky schools prepare for the 2026-2027 school year, the Kentucky Department of Education is reminding drivers of recent changes to state law governing when vehicles must stop for school buses, a shift designed to improve safety for the nearly 400,000 students who ride buses daily.
House Bill 7, which took effect July 15, significantly expands driver stopping requirements on multi-lane roads and highways. Under the new law, drivers traveling in both directions must stop for school or church buses with flashing red lights and extended stop arms unless the roadway is divided by an elevated barrier or unpaved median.
Previously, drivers on four-lane highways could pass a stopped bus if they were traveling in the opposite direction. The change closes a significant safety gap that advocates say puts children at risk. Drivers on highways with four or more lanes still do not need to stop only if the road has an elevated barrier or unpaved median, but a center turn lane does not qualify as an exception. On two-lane roads, drivers continue to be required to stop from both directions.
Violations carry a $300 fine for first-time offenders and $500 for subsequent violations. The law also allows school districts to install cameras on bus stop arms to document illegal passing.
Rep. George Brown Jr. of Lexington, who co-sponsored the bill, said the measure is aimed at protecting children as they get on and off buses. Law enforcement officials have urged drivers to treat school bus warning lights with the same attention as traffic signals, anticipating stops when yellow lights flash and responding immediately when red lights activate.
Sources
- Kentucky Teacher
- New Kentucky law changes when drivers must stop for school buses
- New Kentucky law changes bus stop rules for drivers
This article was generated by AI (claude-haiku-4-5-20251001) based on source material from Kentucky Teacher, enriched with 2 web searches. The original source is available at http://www.kentuckyteacher.org/news/2026/08/kde-reminds-drivers-of-important-change-to-bus-traffic-safety-laws/.
