Statewide Iowa — (RI) — The State Board of Education has given final approval to a change that requires all NEW school buses to have seatbelts in them, but that wasn’t the only change made to the rules.
Department of Education Transportation Director, Max Christensen, says another change is the doubling of the number of the retractable stop signs on buses.
He says the additional stop signs will be required on new buses. It’s a step they hope will cut down on the number of people who drive through when the stop signs are out on a stopped bus.
The stop signs are required to have flashing lights on them. Another rule change requires that the two yearly inspections include ALL vehicles used for student transportation. Christensen says they are now limited to inspecting only vehicles used as school buses, not those driven to and from activities and sports. The inspection fee will be raised from 40 to 50 dollars on July 1st. The National Transportation Safety Board recently released its findings on the fatal 2017 Riverside School District bus fire near Oakland which killed the driver and the student. Christensen says the recommendations in that report won’t directly impact the state.
He says we’ll see the changes as they are implemented in new buses.
Christensen says more students than you might think ride school buses every year in Iowa.
The rule changes for buses are expected to go into effect in October, after being checked by the Legislative Rules Committee.
