SALT LAKE CITY — A bill passed Thursday in the Utah State Legislature significantly increases the fines for drivers caught speeding in school zones or rolling past a school bus when lights are flashing.
Rep. Robert Spendlove (R-Sandy) was behind the bill to increase the penalties in hopes of making roads safer for students.
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"This is one of my favorite kinds of bills," Spendlove said. "I was approached by a constituent who pointed out to me that our existing state code hasn't been updated since 1997."
Previously, fines for speeding in a school zone started at $50. Under the new bill, fines will begin at $260, with even higher penalties for greater speeding offenses. Fines are even larger for drivers caught passing a school bus with its stop sign out and lights flashing.
"When school bus lights are flashing, when a stop sign is out, it means there are kids at risk," Spendlove said. "There are kids getting onto or off the bus, they're in the street and we need to have people taking it very seriously."
Drivers ticketed for a school bus violation will have to pay a minimum of $1,000, a 300% increase from the previous fine of $250.
"This is really just updating those fines to reflect inflation and really emphasize needing more student safety," Spendlove explained.
If a driver is caught speeding in a school zone for a second time within three years, they will be required to pay a minimum of $320. If caught for a second time within five years of passing a stopped school bus with flashing lights, drivers will be fined $2,000. That penalty goes up to $3,000 for a third offense.
"There's an easy solution to this and that's don't break the law," Spendlove said. "The purpose of this is to protect our kids."
The bill now heads to Governor Spencer Cox and is expected to be adopted sometime this spring.
Spendlove said the bill received an outpouring of support from others who are dedicated to student safety.
"I was really encouraged by the support this bill got from our school districts from transportation officials from cities from counties," he said. "We really had kind of an outpouring of support because people recognize that we have to send the message that it's not okay to speed in school zones. It's not okay to put kids at risk by speeding past school buses."
