Iowa Representative Bruce Braley is visiting schools in Iowa communities to make the state’s school bus safety law a national mandate.
Braley introduced Kadyn’s Act in March, 2012. The proposed legislation is modeled after Iowa’s Kadyn’s Law which provides for stiffer penalties for drivers who violate school bus safety laws.
The legislation is named for seven-year-old Kadyn Halverson, of Northwood, Iowa, who was struck and killed by a pickup truck as she crossed the street to board her school bus.
Iowa’s law provides for a minimum $250 fine and up to 30 days in jail for a first offense. A second offense within five years could result in up to one year in jail and fines between $315 and $1,875.
The National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation Services estimates that cars illegally pass stopped school buses 13 million times per year and that an average of 16 children per year are killed by drivers who illegally pass stopped school buses.