Maine Revised Statutes Title 29-A Sec. 2308 – Overtaking and passing school buses
Current as of: 2023 | Check for updates
|
Other versions
1. Receiving or discharging passengers. A school bus operator shall activate flashing lights at least 100 feet before a stop is made to receive or discharge passengers. These lights must be continually displayed until after the bus has received or discharged passengers.
[PL 1993, c. 683, Pt. A, §2 (NEW); PL 1993, c. 683, Pt. B, §5 (AFF).]
Attorney's Note
Under the Maine Revised Statutes, punishments for crimes depend on the classification. In the case of this section:| Class | Prison | Fine |
|---|---|---|
| Class E crime | up to 6 months | up to $1,000 |
Terms Used In Maine Revised Statutes Title 29-A Sec. 2308
- Bus: means a motor vehicle designed for carrying more than 15 persons, including the operator. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 29-A Sec. 101
- highway: means a public way. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 29-A Sec. 101
- Law enforcement officer: means a person who by virtue of public employment is vested by law with a duty to maintain public order or to make arrests for crimes, whether that duty extends to all crimes or is limited to specific crimes. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 29-A Sec. 101
- Lease: A contract transferring the use of property or occupancy of land, space, structures, or equipment in consideration of a payment (e.g., rent). Source: OCC
- License: includes , but is not limited to, a nonresident operating privilege and the privilege of a person to apply for or obtain a license or permit to operate a motor vehicle. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 29-A Sec. 101
- Motor vehicle: means a self-propelled vehicle not operated exclusively on railroad tracks, but does not include:
A. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 29-A Sec. 101Operator: means an individual who drives or is in control of a vehicle or who is exercising control over or steering a towed vehicle. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 29-A Sec. 101 Owner: means a person holding title to a vehicle or having exclusive right to the use of the vehicle for a period of 30 days or more. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 29-A Sec. 101 Parking area: means an area designed for use as access or parking for patrons and customers of establishments to which the public is invited. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 29-A Sec. 101 Person: means an individual, corporation, firm, partnership, joint venture, association, fiduciary, trust, estate or any other legal or commercial entity. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 29-A Sec. 101 Registration: means the registration certificate, plates and renewal devices pertaining to the registration of a vehicle, including temporary registered gross weight increases. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 29-A Sec. 101 School: as used in this subchapter , means an institution or facility for the teaching of children or for the custodial care of children, whether public or private, which is regularly attended by such children. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 29-A Sec. 2301 School bus: means a:
A. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 29-A Sec. 2301School-age persons: means all children up to the age of 18 years and persons 18 years and older who are enrolled in a state-approved program of primary or secondary education, as defined in Title 20?A. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 29-A Sec. 2301 Summons: Another word for subpoena used by the criminal justice system. Traffic: means pedestrians, ridden or herded animals, vehicles, bicycles and other conveyances either singly or together using public way for travel. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 29-A Sec. 101 Traffic infraction: means any violation of any provision of this Title, or of any rules established under this Title, not expressly defined as a crime or as a civil violation and otherwise not punishable by incarceration. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 29-A Sec. 101 Vehicle: means a device for conveyance of persons or property on a way. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 29-A Sec. 101 Way: means the entire width between boundary lines of a road, highway, parkway, street or bridge used for vehicular traffic, whether public or private. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 29-A Sec. 101
2. Stopping. The operator of a vehicle on a way, in a parking area or on school property, on meeting or overtaking a school bus from either direction when the bus has stopped with its red lights flashing to receive or discharge passengers, shall stop the vehicle before reaching the school bus. The operator may not proceed until the school bus resumes motion or until signaled by the school bus operator to proceed.
[PL 1999, c. 183, §13 (AMD).]
3. Separated roadways. The operator of a vehicle on a way separated by curbing or other physical barrier need not stop on meeting or passing a school bus:
A. Traveling in a lane separated by the barrier from the lane in which that operator is traveling; or [PL 1993, c. 683, Pt. A, §2 (NEW); PL 1993, c. 683, Pt. B, §5 (AFF).]
B. On a limited access highway where pedestrians are not permitted to cross the roadway with the school bus stopped in a loading zone. [PL 1993, c. 683, Pt. A, §2 (NEW); PL 1993, c. 683, Pt. B, §5 (AFF).]
[PL 1993, c. 683, Pt. A, §2 (NEW); PL 1993, c. 683, Pt. B, §5 (AFF).]
4. Use of flashing red lights restricted. Except during a driving license examination a school bus operator may not use the system of flashing lights on a school bus for a purpose other than controlling traffic while stopping to receive or discharge school-age persons.
[PL 1997, c. 776, §42 (AMD).]
5. Registered owner‘s liability for vehicle illegally passing a school bus. A person who is a registered owner of a vehicle at the time that vehicle is involved in a violation of subsection 2 commits a traffic infraction. For purposes of this subsection, “registered owner” includes a person issued a dealer or transporter registration plate.
A. The operator of a school bus who observes a violation of subsection 2 may report the violation to a law enforcement officer. If a report is made, the operator shall report the time and the location of the violation and the registration plate number and a description of the vehicle involved. The officer shall initiate an investigation of the reported violation and, if possible, contact the registered owner of the motor vehicle involved and request that the registered owner supply information identifying the operator. [PL 1993, c. 683, Pt. A, §2 (NEW); PL 1993, c. 683, Pt. B, §5 (AFF).]
B. The investigating officer may cause the registered owner of the vehicle to be served with a summons for a violation of this subsection. [PL 1993, c. 683, Pt. A, §2 (NEW); PL 1993, c. 683, Pt. B, §5 (AFF).]
C. Except as provided in paragraph D, it is not a defense to a violation of this subsection that a registered owner was not operating the vehicle at the time of the violation. [PL 1993, c. 683, Pt. A, §2 (NEW); PL 1993, c. 683, Pt. B, §5 (AFF).]
D. The following are defenses to a violation of this subsection.
(1) If a person other than the owner is convicted of operating the vehicle at the time of the violation in violation of subsection 2, then the registered owner may not be found in violation of this subsection.
(2) If the registered owner is a lessor of vehicles and at the time of the violation the vehicle was in the possession of a lessee, and the lessor provides the investigating officer with a copy of the lease agreement containing the information required by section 254, then the lessee and not the lessor may be charged under this subsection.
(3) If the vehicle is operated using a dealer or transporter registration plate and at the time of the violation the vehicle was operated by any person other than the dealer or transporter, and if the dealer or transporter provides the investigating officer with the name and address of the person who had control over the vehicle at the time of the violation, then that person and not the dealer or transporter may be charged under this subsection.
(4) If a report that the vehicle was stolen is given to a law enforcement officer or agency before the violation occurs or within a reasonable time after the violation occurs, then the registered owner may not be charged under this subsection. [PL 1995, c. 65, Pt. A, §110 (AMD); PL 1995, c. 65, Pt. A, §153 (AFF); PL 1995, c. 65, Pt. C, §15 (AFF).]
E. Notwithstanding subsection 6, a person who violates this subsection commits a traffic infraction. [PL 1993, c. 683, Pt. A, §2 (NEW); PL 1993, c. 683, Pt. B, §5 (AFF).]
[PL 1995, c. 65, Pt. A, §110 (AMD); PL 1995, c. 65, Pt. A, §153 (AFF); PL 1995, c. 65, Pt. C, §15 (AFF).]
6. Penalty. A violation of subsection 2 is a Class E crime that is punishable by a $250 minimum fine for the first offense and a mandatory 30-day suspension of a driver’s license for a 2nd offense occurring within 3 years of the first offense.
[PL 2019, c. 318, §4 (AMD).]
SECTION HISTORY
PL 1993, c. 683, §A2 (NEW). PL 1993, c. 683, §B5 (AFF). PL 1995, c. 65, §A110 (AMD). PL 1995, c. 65, §§A153,C15 (AFF). PL 1997, c. 776, §42 (AMD). PL 1999, c. 183, §13 (AMD). PL 2019, c. 113, Pt. C, §75 (AMD). PL 2019, c. 318, §4 (AMD).