Atlanta

Law to be changed when you are allowed to pass a stopped school bus

ATLANTA — A law that allowed drivers in the opposite lane to keep moving when a school bus stops is getting a quick fix.

At the end of the last legislative session, lawmakers passed a law that allowed oncoming traffic on highways divided only by a turn lane, to keep going even when school buses stopped to let kids out.

State Sen. Bill Heath says it didn’t take long for him to hear the complaints and realize they had made a terrible mistake.

“Immediately, one of my directors of pupil transportation reached out to me and said, ‘Oh, y’all have made a fatal error,’” Heath said.

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The fear was it would be fatal -- that children would run across that kind of highway and get hit by oncoming traffic.

No one knows exactly how that error got into the law, but Heath and other lawmakers rushed to get it fixed as soon as the new Legislature met.

The updated law makes it illegal for cars to keep going on anything other than a highway divided by an obvious median.

The Senate passed it unanimously Thursday.

“I was very pleased we got a unanimous vote,” Heath said.

The bill now goes to the House, where it is expected to pass.

Stay with WSBTV.com and Channel 2 Action News for updates.