Safely Boarding The School Bus - We're Never Done

The safety of schoolchildren has been a priority every year at the General Assembly.  But several years ago former NC House Speaker Pro Tempore Dale Folwell shone a bright light on the safety of children boarding and disembarking from school buses — his own son Dalton was tragically hit and killed by a car that illegally passed a stopped school bus in Forsyth County in 1999.  Pro Tempore Folwell was able to push legislation increasing the penalty for passing a stopped school bus to 5 points on a driver's license, but a punishment isn't always the best deterrent.

In fact, the best deterrent may be a barrier for the passing car.  BL Solutions has developed an new school bus arm that extends from the bus totally across the oncoming lane of traffic.  Any oncoming car that runs into the arm will incur lots of collision damage but the arm will fall away from the bus without harming it.